Debate continues over widening the main road

On the opposite side of the fence are the Island Council, the ecological group GOB and other groups concerned about the environmental impact that a dual carriageway would have on the island.

According to the Councillor for Transport, Damià Borràs, the proposals included in the Road Plan drawn up for the Me-1 "are sufficient to guarantee traffic flow all the year" bearing in mind that, according to studies carried out in recent years, the increase in the volume of traffic using the road is stabilising.

The Councillor points out that the proposal to widen the hard shoulder from 1.5 to 2.5 metres on its own will increase the average speed on the road by 10 kilometres per hour, as it could then be used by slow-moving vehicles such as tractors. It will also increase the maximum speed permitted for lorries from 70 to 80 kilometres per hour and for buses from 80 to 90 kilometres per hour, which will help to speed up the traffic.

Although this proposal is welcomed by the transport association ASTRAME, its president Joaquín Bisbal, insists on the need to make the road a dual carriageway because the volume of vehicles not only slows the traffic but results in financial losses for private companies. He feels that the plan to create seven roundabouts between Maó and Ciutadella is "excessive" for a road only 44 kilometres long and is also calling for an alternative road on the stretch between Ferreries and Ciutadella and an underpass at the Industrial Estate entrance to Alaior.

In addition to widening the hard shoulder and installing new roundabouts, the plan also proposes extending two of the three existing slow lanes, at Costa de s'Indio, and Costa Nova, and creating five more lanes for slow-moving vehicles as well as 16 places where drivers can change direction.