MALAGA’S regional government has ramped up works on the partially destroyed Ronda road after it was hit by a landslide earlier this month.
The crucial A-397 connects Marbella’s San Pedro de Alcantara with inland Malaga and the historic city of Ronda.
It is one of the most used roads in the region and is essential for residents heading down to the coast for work, as well as delivery drivers and trucks.
When the landslide struck during Storm Jana on March 8, tonnes of rock and rubble crashed onto a bend in the road, causing it to partially collapse.
Footage shared on X in the aftermath of the incident showed mountains of clay-like rock strewn across the road and the adjacent hillside.
Drivers were warned it could take up to nine months to repair, while the inevitable road closure has caused the time taken for daily journeys for tens of thousands to increase twofold.
The provincial government has now set aside €3.5million to repair the road.
From next week, there will be 20 people working seven days a week to ensure the project is completed as soon as possible, reports Malaga Hoy.
Assisting the workers is a 200-tonne crane capable of lifting large boulders and mounds of rubble.
Public works minister Rocio Diaz said: ‘It is an extremely complex project, at altitude, where we must first ensure the stability of the slope and, once achieved, put all our efforts into repairing the road.’
She added: ‘We will have all the material and technical means possible on the slope to deploy the containment mesh.’
The complex project is being carried out in phases, with the first consisting of removing all the remaining rubble.
A protective mesh designed to prevent further rock falls will then be installed at the highest part of the hillside.
Later, several boulders weighing up to 400 tonnes will be removed after being identified as potentially unstable.
A brand new ‘dynamic’ barrier will then be installed to prevent falling boulders from impacting the road in the future, before the bend is fixed itself.
