(Please see the UPDATE at the end of this post)
I seems that the new extension of the AP-7 motorway from Cartagena to Vera opened today, after apparently having been inspected on 28 March. From where I live (just outside Mazarron) I can see the motorway in the distance and with my binoculars I have certainly seen a little traffic on it in both directions.
I was up in Torrevieja today myself and on the way back on the A-30 Cartagena-Murcia motorway section noticed that the barriers across the entry to the AP-7 Cartagena-Vera extension had been removed, but as I was in a hurry to get back didn't try it, but instead used the familiar route via Fuente Alamo/Cuevas de Reillo/Las Canovas. However I plan to take a run to Cartagena tomorrow just to try it out and will update this post with my findings.
Reports I have are that the costs of using this motorway are as follows:
- Cartagena to Las Palas/Tallante 3.15 Euros
- Las Palas/Tallante to Mazarron 1.75 Euros
- Cartagena all the way to Vera approx. 8 Euros (*)
One point to bear in mind is that there are apparently no petrol stations on the motorway at least as far as Mazarron; I don't plan myself to go down to Vera on it, but if I see any more information I will post updates here.
This post updates my earlier post here.
PS/ I just found this report on 'Yahoo! Espana' dated 29th March 2007 - it's in Spanish, but there is a rough English translation here.
(*) Postscript: Saturday 31MAR07 01.10 RST - there is a comment in my earlier post and information in a link included in it seems to indicate that the overall each-way cost for the full route is around 11.00 Euros. I now plan to make the trip down to Vera sometime next week, just for the fun of it - also of course so I can know from first-hand experience how much it costs.
UPDATE: (Sunday 01APR 07 00.01 RST) I travelled on the Mazarron to Cartagena section in both directions on 31MAR07 - read my report about the journey here.
Blogging from the Highlands of Scotland
'From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step' - Diderot
Friday, 30 March 2007
4 comments:
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The AP7 is a great road now. As a frequent driver from the UK via France and down to Murcia this road is a god send to us. Paying Toll money is a bit of a pain compared to UK car tax, but every year the Spanish road network seems to improve. Thinking of getting a ViaT card to make paying at tolls easier and quicker, but need to order this from our bank.
ReplyDeleteA comment on a very old article! ;) Indeed it is a lovely road, if little used on the Cartagena Vera section; however like many other projects conceived during the 'boom years' in Spain (airports, public buildings of various kinds, etc) it is a bit of a 'white elephant'.
ReplyDeleteLike you I have driven down to Spain through France many times (generally starting from Zeebrugge in Belgium) and as you say every year (until a few years ago) the roads were improving by leaps and bounds and is now excellent over most of the country. Unfortunately most of the recently-constructed toll motorways survive only with heavy government subsidies, many of the developers having gone into liquidation in the past few years; hopefully the money will be found to keep them in good repair during the difficult years.
use the AP7 regularly between Cartagena and Torrevieja. Watch our during peak summer months as the toll charges doubles. Does not make sense at all? The 332 that runs parallel to this is always busy, so why not try and divert traffic on to the AP7, but set the all year round toll charges at a far more realistic rate? Having said that, the AP7 is an excellent road.
ReplyDeleteMy article really touches only on the toll charges for the Cartagena-Vera part of the AP7, where the toll fees are constant year-round, with no summer/Easter 'hike', although the toll fees throughout Spain are revised, in January each year usually. I had not been aware of the pricing strategy for the Cartagena-Alicante section, although I sometimes visit La Zenia/Torrevieja, coming from the south of course, and see the standard tariff is €2,05 , rising to €3,65 over the summer and at Easter. I expect it is all about supply and demand, with the large number of visitors to Torrevieja and nearby resorts who fly in to either Murcia-San Javier (MJV) or Alicante-Elche. The current full tariff for the Cartagena-Alicante section can be found here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fomento.gob.es/NR/rdonlyres/4C37F4AC-1961-4677-A659-ADB438BCA439/122872/AP7_AlicanteCartagena_2014.pdf
(it's a .PDF file from the Fomento (Ministry of Development) website
In the Fomento website itself, you can find current motorway toll tariffs for all/most toll motorways in Spain, probably most now that the government had to rescue them to prevent them going bankrupt:
http://www.fomento.gob.es/mfom/lang_castellano/direcciones_generales/carreteras/peajes/