José Aix, a Ciudadanos candidate for mayor of Orihuela and the current deputy mayor and councilor for Urban Planning and Heritage, presented two proposals from his election program for the 28 May elections. The plans called for a southern bypass for the city, designed along the metro road and a pedestrian route along the AVE corridor that leads toward the gateway area.
Both initiatives were officially registered in Congress by Juan Ignacio López-Bas, a deputy for Oriolan, who filed a lawsuit against the Government to review the transfer of the metro road. This road, a property of the Kasa Hydrographic Confederation, was transferred to the City Council and has served as a detour to the Tajo-Segura transferruns running parallel to it.
The two leaders argued that adapting this road to the status of a public road managed by the Kasa Hydrographic Confederation would be sensible once vehicular traffic is allowed from the N-340 to the CV-915. After the AVE crossing works, traffic would cross the Segura canal again in front of the Puente Alto industrial area, connecting the southern railway to the City Council with the road previously used by ADIF, and providing an exit toward the CV-930 and back onto the N-340.
Aix emphasized the importance of freeing urban space and recalled the city’s pending promises, including the AVE footbridge. He proposed a southern bypass as a solution to prevent traffic from Orihuela having to travel to Murcia or Alicante on the N-340, describing the plan as a realistic way to structure the city and keep it accessible for residents and visitors alike.
He added that having López-Bas in Madrid, who understands precisely what is being asked and what is offered, benefits not only Ciudadanos but all residents of Orihuela.
Consequently, López-Bas pressed for a definitive response from the Government through ADIF about the construction of the pedestrian crossing on the railway that ADIF had undertaken in January 2018 with an investment of nine hundred thousand euros.
The deputy reiterated the need for this infrastructure to connect the urban area with Correntías in a way that is accessible to all residents and should have already been handed over to the Oriolan administration. Yet, it has not materialized since the tender for the project was abandoned in May 2022.
In a congressional speech, López-Bas highlighted that the chairman of ADIF had provided a clear commitment to accelerate a new tendering process through a review of contract prices. He concluded by stating that an internal instruction had not been heard for several months, underscoring the urgency of moving forward with the project.