Asturias Highway Nears 50 Years with Traffic Nearly Double Its Original Design
The vital transportation corridor connecting Oviedo, Gijón, and Avilés faces chronic congestion as daily vehicle volumes far exceed initial projections from its 1976 opening.
The major highway connecting the northern Spanish cities of Oviedo, Gijón, and Avilés is currently handling between 65,000 and 70,000 vehicles daily, nearly double the volume it was engineered to support when it opened in February 1976. Initial design forecasts anticipated a maximum intensity of 37,000 vehicles per day for the route, which spans nearly 44 kilometers.
Decades later, experts, daily commuters, and transport operators warn that the infrastructure is severely congested. Minor accidents frequently trigger severe traffic jams during peak travel hours, leading professional drivers to describe the route as a trap. According to historical data from the Ministry of Development, traffic volume surged over the years, reaching a daily average of 73,402 vehicles in 2007 before shifting in subsequent years.
The necessity to increase the corridor's capacity is not a new revelation. The Ministry of Development awarded an informational study to improve the route back in 2007, and an environmental impact statement published in the Official State Gazette in July 2010 formally justified the need for an expansion due to current traffic conditions and projected growth.
The 2010 proposal outlined adding an extra lane in each direction by utilizing the central median, creating a three-lane configuration for both light and heavy vehicles with an estimated budget approaching one hundred million euros. However, this comprehensive expansion was never fully executed, leaving the corridor largely dependent on its original footprint outside of minor partial improvements.
The only recent major intervention occurred in October 2023, when a third lane was introduced along a 4.4-kilometer stretch between the Lugones and Matalablima interchanges with an investment of 30.4 million euros. Meanwhile, other planned upgrades, such as the Robledo link intended to connect the highway directly to the AS-II, remain pending.
Beyond vehicle capacity, economists and researchers emphasize the critical role the corridor played in shaping the regional labor market by reducing intercity travel times from nearly an hour down to roughly twenty minutes. This connectivity fostered industrial and service sector development in surrounding municipalities like Llanera during the 1980s and 1990s.
As recurring delays continue to spark fresh debates over the highway's future, some analysts and local reports argue that addressing regional mobility requires a broader approach. Proponents of alternative solutions suggest that enhancing public transit services, such as coordinating train schedules and bolstering bus lines, is equally essential for commuters who do not drive or cannot afford vehicle maintenance costs.