Footbridge Problems

Opción Sampedreña has commented about the current status of the new pedestrian footbridge located on the A-397 Ronda road. This footbridge joins San Pedro Alcántara with the Industrial Estate, the Three Gardens Park and El Salto del Agua, and allows much needed, and long overdue safe crossing to pedestrians. The vice president of the party, Rafael Piña, has confirmed that the pedestrian footbridge has sufficient width for the transit of bicycles.

He has stated however that while it is true that the footbridge fulfills the function for which it was designed, there are many deficiencies in the completion and execution of the work.

Although Piña has indicated that “There are already plenty of people who use it,” and it solves the problem of connecting San Pedro with the industrial estate and the area of ​​the Tres Jardines Park, he complains that “there are many pot holes in the ground.” He went on to say that “Many different types of concrete and connections are in poor condition and in no time at all that is going to start giving problems because it’s going to deteriorate.” He also added that already “some areas are showing oxidation, which is a little worrying.”

Some other concerns that were raised were that some road ramps are fastened with stumps of wood and others are retained by wires, and some areas of the ground are already sunken. Therefore, it has been requested that it be resolved as soon as possible, and that it is not the responsibility of the Town Council.

Piña explained that in the construction of the new pedestrian walkway there is a lack of foresight especially when it comes to cleaning the area surrounding the work. “The truth is that it is quite ugly. There is a problem concerning the water that runs from the roundabout further up the road that ends up passing under the bridge, which is in the blue zone and is creating some large trails that drag dirt to the street below.”

He concluded that “A review by the technical staff of the board is pending, and we trust that the outcome of the technicians is that they give the appropriate orders so that the situation improves.”

The bridge has had an investment of 300,000 euros, handled by the company CFVC Construcciones S.L. The pedestrian footbridge is formed by a board for the crossing at different levels of the A-397 road with a length of 240 metres in length, a width of 1.90 metres and a height of 5.5 metres.