President of the Provincial Assembly, Carlos Mazón, continues to push the accelerator with the approval of aid from Diputación de Alicante, which surpassed one hundred million in just two months. Some grants mark a historic milestone for the institution, such as the 14 million euros announced this Wednesday to upgrade the province’s road network. Joined by the deputy of highways, Mazón highlighted that the provincial road system is set to improve travel, access, and safety. The program aims to boost mobility, strengthen safety in travel, and help counter depopulation while shaping the region. Planned actions will impact 80 municipalities and include pavement improvements, replacement of public lighting installations, road enhancements, and the creation of bicycle routes.
Mazón helps the accelerator Diputación a year before the election: 110 million in two months
The road network managed by Diputación de Alicante covers over a thousand kilometers and more than 130 roads. The plans seek to reduce traffic from heavy vehicles that endanger pedestrians in urban centers and to provide fast, safe access through new projects, extensions, maintenance, and improvements. The total investment across the five road areas stands at 14 million euros. The Plan to Improve Access to Municipalities allocates 3.8 million; the Provincial Road Network Improvement Plan allocates 2.8 million; the Road Safety Assistance Plan allocates 1.7 million; and 1.1 million euros are earmarked for Repair, Exchange, and Weather Emergencies. Additionally, the Aid Plan for Municipal Roads, currently in the resolution stage, reached 4.3 million.
The government team at Diputación de Alicante maintained ongoing dialogue with opposition groups, including PSOE and Reconciliation, negotiating and reaching agreement to initiate the emergency plan for municipal access. Alejandro Morant met with PSOE spokespeople and committed to advancing the package, with Gerard Fullana accepting and endorsing the aid package.
The push to improve municipal access will affect nearly twenty actions in towns such as Torremanzanas, Finestrat, L’Alfàs del Pi, Dolores, Altea, Benidoleig, Albatera, Villena, Elche, and Orihuela, covering both works execution and project preparation and expropriation costs, among others.
Separately, the Provincial Road Network Improvement Plan will invest 2,874,350 euros this year for nine projects. Among the actions affecting multiple municipalities are route upgrades and widenings, pavement reinforcement, drainage improvements, and the creation of bike and pedestrian routes on affected roads. All work approved by the Infrastructure and Roads Information Commission will be funded by the Provincial Committee, with some projects receiving up to half a million euros. Municipalities such as Banyeres de Mariola, Benifallim, Xixona, El Campello, Llíber, Gata de Gorgos, Calpe, Moraira, Aspe, La Romana, Relleu, and Onil are among those to benefit. The agency emphasizes annual investments to keep roads aligned with safety standards, as Mazón and Alexander Morant reaffirm a commitment to better connectivity and more sustainable mobility.
Another key investment involves purchasing lighting and safety elements for roads and rural routes. The first tranche of these grants will allocate 1.7 million euros to municipalities with populations under 5,000, distributed by population criteria. This initiative began in 2021 with a half-million-euro initial item focused on solar lighting in rural areas. The funding also covers vertical and horizontal signage, speed bumps, rail guards, and traffic signals.
A further call targets towns with fewer than 5,000 residents, allotting 1.1 million euros to repair and upgrade municipal roads not classified as motorways or urban arteries. The program prioritizes simple repairs, addressing potholes and sections cut by meteorological events as an innovative approach. The municipal roads aid program provides up to 40,000 euros per council for project preparation and construction management, with a total of 4,325,000 euros this year, representing a 2.3 million increase from the previous call.
Diputación allocates two million euros to improve roads in small municipalities
road inventory
Morant outlined that GEONET, a Diputación subsidiary, is developing the geographic information system GIS for municipal roads.
The goal is to maintain a comprehensive database, an inventory that enables municipalities to know all their geo-referenced routes, current status, and investments needed to plan future programs for the coming year.