Barcelona calls for the return of motorway tolls to halt their decline

The Cambra de Comerç de Barcelona has issued a clear warning: a pay-per-use system urgently needs to be introduced on motorways and dual carriageways throughout Spain. The organisation argues that this is the only way to guarantee the maintenance and modernisation of infrastructure, in line with the European principles of “the user pays” and “the polluter pays”.

Since tolls were removed in 2021, traffic on Catalonia’s main roads has soared. The AP-7, for instance, is already close to gridlock on several stretches, with light vehicles up 37% and heavy vehicles up 55% in just five years. The result: more traffic jams, more accidents and accelerated wear on the road network.

The problem is compounded by a lack of investment in upkeep. According to the Asociación Española de la Carretera, the shortfall has grown from €9.453 billion to €13.491 billion in only two years. Meanwhile, public authorities allocate barely €2 billion a year to maintenance, an insufficient amount to reverse the deterioration. More than half of Spain’s and Catalonia’s roads show serious or very serious damage.

Motorways and dual carriageways carry four times as much traffic as other roads and account for 55% of serious or fatal accidents. Although the risk of accidents had fallen in recent years, a report by the RACC reveals that, for the first time in 15 years, the risk index on these roads has risen again, from 6.1 to 6.4 according to the iRAP study.