Residents and daily drivers in Maresme could see the N-II reduced to one lane in each direction across much of the comarca under a Generalitat plan intended to remove 10,000 vehicles from the road and improve its connections with the C-32 motorway.

President Salvador Illa presented the deployment of the Maresme Agreement to the area’s mayors. The plan assigns €384 million through to 2032 for works on the N-II and the C-32 corridor.

For commuters and residents in towns along the coastal route, the change would mean a road designed for lower traffic volumes rather than its former role as a high-capacity through route. The source material does not specify a start date for the works or identify the individual stretches where lanes would be reduced.

Funding follows long-running N-II transfer agreement

The funding forms part of a long-running arrangement between the Spanish government and the Generalitat, Catalonia’s devolved government. In 2023, the Ministry of Transport said it had agreed the text of the Maresme convention, covering measures arising from the transfer of the N-II, alongside a separate convention for rail interchanges.

According to the Ministry of Transport’s October 2023 announcement, the combined estimated investment for those two conventions was €420 million, funded directly by the Ministry or through Adif, Spain’s railway infrastructure manager.

  • The Maresme allocation is €384 million, under the plan presented by Illa.
  • The programme is scheduled to run until 2032.
  • The stated traffic reduction on the N-II is 10,000 vehicles.
  • The plan includes seeking better connectivity between the N-II and the C-32.

The Ministry said the underlying objective of the agreements was to improve road and rail connectivity while promoting active and sustainable travel, including traffic-calming measures and cycle lanes.

Lower N-II traffic already recorded in Baix Maresme

In July 2023, the Generalitat said about 10,000 vehicles a day, or 30% of traffic formerly using the N-II in Baix Maresme, had moved to the C-32 since 2021. It said the shift varied in Alt Maresme, reaching 50% in some municipalities and almost zero in others.

At that point, the Generalitat was working with affected councils on six projects spanning more than 40 kilometres of the N-II between Montgat and Tordera. The current Maresme Agreement sets out the €384 million allocation for the wider N-II and C-32 programme through 2032.

Primary sources: transportes.gob.es, govern.cat. Reported by Sara González, EFE / El Periódico, lavanguardia.com, Europa Press, Cristina Buesa, Fede Cedó, capgros.elnacional.cat, Diana Silva, Diari ARA.