Spain gets rid of toll roads: vacationers pay tens of euros

The most significant change for many tourists who get in the car is the end of the fee on the AP7. This is the highway to the south between the French border at La Jonqueira and Salou, more than 80 kilometers south of Barcelona. By car, the trip from the French border to Salou costs about 25 euros. Vacationers with a motorhome or motorhome pay about 55 euros quickly.

In the same area, the AP2, the motorway from the coast south of Barcelona to Zaragoza is now free. And the Catalan motorway along the Costa Brava, C32, is no longer a toll road. Here, too, the vacationer now saves a good amount. The Catalonia region thus gained 550 kilometers of free motorways. If you drive south, you will pay the toll again.

maintenance

The financing and maintenance of motorways has long been the subject of debates in Spain and in the Spanish regions. So it remains unclear how highways should now be funded. According to Spanish media, the average cost per kilometer of the motorway is 60 thousand euros per year.

In Catalonia, the central government is responsible for the previous routes AP2 and AP7, and the Catalan government is responsible for C32, among others. Both Madrid and Barcelona are looking for a new way to get drivers to pay for and, accordingly, finance the use of motorways. In Catalonia, for example, the vignette is considered like the one that has been introduced in many other European countries.

Spain still has relatively few toll roads. Of the 12,000 km of Spanish state highways, 2,000 km are toll roads. In the regions there are 5,200 km of highways, of which 500 km are toll roads. Spain should have a European Union plan before 2024 to finance highways.