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Massive queues on the roads into Madrid after the long weekend: journeys home take hours longer on the A-1, A-5 and A-6
The return from the May long weekend is already being felt on the roads into Madrid. Since midday, traffic has been building up, causing queues at several key points, especially on the A-5 and A-1, where thousands of drivers face a slower journey home than usual. The return travel operation is setting the pace of the day and complicating plans for those returning to the capital.
The greatest difficulties are concentrated on stretches such as Valmojado and Talavera de la Reina on the A-5, as well as Los Cerralbos and Santa Olalla. On the A-1, traffic slows in San Agustín de Guadalix, while the A-6 has heavy traffic at points such as Torrelodones, Las Matas and Las Rozas, especially towards the M-50 and the M-40.
The Directorate-General for Traffic expects more than one million journeys in the Community of Madrid during this return trip. To manage the volume, additional and reversible lanes have been opened on the approaches to the city, together with restrictions for heavy vehicles and increased surveillance using speed cameras and helicopters.
The most difficult hours are between 16:00 and 23:00 on Sunday, with queues continuing into Monday morning in some regions. The phenomenon is repeated on other major roads in the country, but it is on the approaches to Madrid that traffic density reaches its highest point.
The authorities insist on caution at the wheel and recommend avoiding peak hours, planning the journey and checking traffic conditions in real time. In operations of this kind, it is the intensity over short periods that has the greatest impact on traffic flow.
The mass return after a few days’ rest once again tests the capacity of the infrastructure and traffic organisation. For many, the end of the long weekend not only marks the return to routine, but also an afternoon shaped by traffic jams and the need to adapt schedules and journeys in a city returning to its usual rhythm.