Ronda-San Pedro road reopens after four months of intense work following major landslide

Thanks to the emergency repair work carried out during the past four months, the Junta de Andalucía regional government has been able to reopen the Ronda-San Pedro road (A-397) one week earlier than planned. This is a partial reopening and a traffic lights system is facilitating the alternating passage of vehicles in each direction

The road suffered serious damage during one of the storms that hit Malaga province in March. Part of the road and a key bridge in the municipality of Benahavís were affected by a major landslide. Due to the importance of the work, the Junta activated an emergency work protocol and even increased the budget from 3.7 million to 4.5 million euros along the way, once it was discovered that it would be necessary to perform blasting work to prevent future risks.

Regional minister Rocío Díaz highlighted the positive results of the urgent work that has been undertaken by the Junta and its technicians every single day in the past four months. Díaz said that the second phase of the work is already underway, which will eventually allow full reopening of the key road.

Mayor of Ronda María de la Paz Fernández stated that, although partial, the reopening of the road is something to celebrate. "It has been a very difficult few months for many people from Ronda and the mountains who travel to the Costa del Sol every day to work," she said, adding that "this is a return to normality, more or less".

The most recent actions focused on stabilising the viaduct. The next steps include installing the lateral defence barrier, recovering the road surface, ensuring drainage and installing road signs.

Geotechnical experts supervised the process at all times due to the hostility of the terrain. The work was complex and it required important safety measures to ensure the stability of the slope. For this reason, various techniques were applied: manual work, heavy machinery and controlled micro-blasting.

Given the importance of the road and the risks at hand, the regional government and the workers were unable to promise a deadline, but their efforts have allowed this partial reopening to take place earlier than expected.