The tunnel over the Andratx-Estellencs road was badly damaged by a rockfall. | Michel's

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After the roof of the tunnel over the road to Andratx was partially destroyed in January this year, residents of Estellencs endured two months of inconvenience because of the closure of the road. The heavy rains in January caused an enormous rock to slip and crash straight through the tunnel roof. The only alternative access to and from Andratx was a detour via Banyalbufar.

Work to the tunnel took the time it did because the damage caused by the rock meant that there was no other option than to demolish the rest of the section of the roof and start afresh. Even then, though, it wasn't possible to fully rebuild the tunnel, and the Council of Majorca roads department said that the repair was a temporary solution. This included a complicated project to install mesh to catch any other rocks that might have fallen.

There had been a pressing need to get the road open in advance of the tourism season. Estellencs would have suffered considerable economic loss if the road had remained closed, to say nothing of the ongoing inconvenience for residents. So, it was understood that the full repair work would have to be undertaken after the season. This is going to be done, but it will once more mean that the road is closed.

The Council of Majorca has informed the mayor of Estellencs, Bartomeu Jover, that the road will be closed for at least two weeks in the middle of December and that there could be other shorter closures.