Minister again confirms end of toll on AP-7 Alicante-Tarragona

The Spanish outgoing minister of development affairs José Luis Ábalos has again confirmed that the AP-7 highway between Tarragona and Valencia and between Valencia and Alicante will be toll free from January 1, 2020.

That will therefore also apply to the AP-4 between Seville and Cádiz which 468 km of toll-free roads will be added in Spain.

The contract for AP-7 with the current manager Abertis / Aumar will end on December 31, 2019, after which this will not be renewed and the state will take over the management. At the same time, the AP-4 between Seville and Cádiz also becomes toll-free.

The Ap-7 motorway or Autopista del Mediterráneo between the province of Tarragona, Valencia and Alicante is 373.8 kilometers long and has a toll of 59.97 euros over the entire route. From January 1, 2020, that toll will be abolished, which of course is good news for the Spaniards but also for foreigners who use this highway to drive to the Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia or Andalusia.

The maintenance costs for this part of the AP-7 are estimated at 16 million euros per year, money that will therefore no longer be collected by the toll. On average 20,071 vehicles make use of the AP-7 on the part between Tarragona and Valencia and around 19,205 vehicles between Valencia and Alicante. If the toll expires, the number of vehicles will increase considerably.

That has indeed already happened on the AP-1 between Burgos and Armiñón, which became toll-free on December 1, 2018 after 44 years. The number of vehicles on the AP-1 increased after the lifting of the toll by 58.7% to around 25,516 daily (compared to 16,703 in November).

From 1 January 2020, the AP-4 or Autopista del Sur between Seville and Cádiz will also become toll-free. This is a 93 km long highway that uses an average of 21,974 vehicles daily. The toll this year costs 7.42 euros on the AP-4.

On 31 August 2021, the managers will end contracts on three other highways, namely the AP-7 between Montmeló and El Papiol, the AP-7 between Tarragona and La Jonquera and the AP-2 between Zaragoza and the coast (Mediterráneo). These highways are managed by Acesa (Abertis) and together account for 479 kilometers.

According to the Minister for Development, the decision of these last motorways that will be released from August 31, 2021, however, lies with the next government, whoever that may be in 2021.