04/07/2013 00:00
TW
0
Joan Collins THE Council of Majorca will change the plans for the second Palma ring road to avoid any more controversy around this project. Antoni Pascual, the councillor for Public Works, argued that, “the second ring road has caused too much controversy, so it is necessary to find a formula which will be more acceptable. We are trying to make it an agreed project, like the Manacor motorway”. The project, according to Pascual, will be modified to confine it to the real necessities and reduce the impact on the countryside. To do this, the existing stretch of the second ring road from the airport to the Inca motorway will be widened, but with as little impact on the surrounding land as possible. From Al Campo to the Soller road, the new road will also have four lanes, to accommodate the number of heavy vehicles going to the Son Reus incinerator. “Four lanes will be built but without taking much land”, said Pascual. From the Soller road to the Valldemossa road, the Council of Majorca has decided to remove the stretch of motorway so that the new road will only have two lanes, one in each direction. In Pascual's opinion, there is no need for four lanes on this stretch as there will not be much traffic. In addition to reducing the amount of land used by half, the access roads and links with the roads which cross the second ring road will also have less environmental impact; it will suffice to build a roundabout or crossroads. The modification to this project also affects Son Sardina, an especially sensitive area, where a study is being done as to which link would have least technical impact on the environment. These modifications to the project will also have a direct impact on the cost. The initial project was due to cost 104 million euros, but the modifications have reduced it to 80 million. The Council of Majorca hopes that these modifications will have popular support, although GOB (the environmental group) and the Platform against the second ring road are opposed to them.