Spain: A7 vs AP7 vs N340 in Taragona

[DiscoSteve]

Just come back from a trip to the Taragona area of Catalunya south of Barcelona. Last time I was there (family have property) was in 2019. Back then the AP7 was tolled. And thus generally not driven on by wagons wanting to avoid having to pay tolls. This had resulted in a ridculous situation where the A7 and its pre-AutoVia equivalent the N340 were carrying all the heavy traffic rather than the lovely smooth and quiet D2/D3 AP7. The D2 A7 was built there sometime in the 2010's to alleviate traffic on the S1 N340. My guess is also that the EU will have contributed to both AP7 and A7. This resulted in a pair of high quality dual carriageways interleaving each other (and the new High Speed Railway Line between Barcelona an Valencia) south from Taragona down to Calafat - with some specially squeezed alignments near the old Nuclear Power Station.

Roll the clock forward a few years and they've finally made the AP7 toll free - I was especially surprised to see that this year. Wagons are now rightly on the AP7 as well as the A7 and they are basically banned from the N340 now with its newly reduced speed limit and additional slightly pointless roundabouts created along it.

But what I notice now is that they've ended up with the nonsense capacity of a D4 (in two pieces) jammed all the way down the coast. Total duplication all the way along, doubled up junctions at each significant town/stop and overly large land take in a whopper strip right down the coast. With hindsight what a cock-up!

Have a look - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Tarra ... ?entry=ttu

[mwacuk]

If it were a UK coast, we'd be lucky to get a single road to the N-340 standard, let alone two parallel Motorways as well!

Population density and the amount of tourists along the Spanish Costas no doubt justifies a motorway along the coast, but two Motorways just seems total overkill. All on one for the most beautiful coastlines in Europe, what a shame! Also, Spain is going to have a serious maintenance headache in years to come!

Not even sure the Chinese could out-do the Spanish on over-engineering!

[wallmeerkat]

If it were a UK coast, we'd be lucky to get a single road to the N-340 standard, let alone two parallel Motorways as well!

Population density and the amount of tourists along the Spanish Costas no doubt justifies a motorway along the coast, but two Motorways just seems total overkill. All on one for the most beautiful coastlines in Europe, what a shame! Also, Spain is going to have a serious maintenance headache in years to come!

Not even sure the Chinese could out-do the Spanish on over-engineering!

Even if there was a UK dual carraigeway superceded by a motorway, eg. the M74/A74(M) and old A74 - B7076/B7078, the old road would likely be downgraded, the B7076/B7078 is more or less an S2 now.

[Herned]

But what I notice now is that they've ended up with the nonsense capacity of a D4 (in two pieces) jammed all the way down the coast. Total duplication all the way along, doubled up junctions at each significant town/stop and overly large land take in a whopper strip right down the coast. With hindsight what a cock-up!

See also the A68/AP68 north west out of Zaragoza. The N232 has nearly all been upgraded to motorway in the last decade, despite the existence of the existing autopista very close by.

What's even more bizarre is that the autopistas are tolled and owned by concesssions, but there doesn't seem to have been a no competition clause in their contracts.