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The holiday getaway left slow traffic on the A-3, but few traffic jams in Madrid
The 15 August holiday departure operation began on Friday the 14th with isolated tailbacks in Madrid, but the situation improved clearly as the afternoon went on. The A-3, especially around Rivas-Vaciamadrid and in the direction of Valencia, was one of the last places where slow traffic remained.
During the first hours of the operation there were also problems on the A-2 and the M-40. On the Barcelona motorway, congestion was concentrated between kilometres 19 and 20, between San Fernando de Henares and Torrejón de Ardoz, while slow-moving traffic was recorded on the M-40 in the section near the connection with the A-5.
The A-3 built up tailbacks between kilometres 14.5 and 16 in the direction of Valencia, coinciding with one of the usual outbound corridors towards Levante. The pressure eased afterwards, leaving an afternoon that was much calmer than expected for one of the summer weekends with the highest levels of travel.
The Dirección General de Tráfico activated the special operation at 15:00 on Friday and kept it in place until midnight on Sunday the 16th. For those three days it had forecast 5.61 million road journeys across Spain, coinciding with the changeover of the fortnight, holidays and numerous local patron-saint festivities.
Friday was precisely one of the periods considered most delicate. The DGT expected the highest volumes between 16:00 and 23:00 on the outbound routes from major cities and on roads towards tourist destinations, second homes and coastal areas.
To facilitate those movements, Traffic deployed speed cameras, helicopters, drones and unmarked vehicles, as well as planning additional lanes and alternative routes at the most problematic points. Some roadworks and certain transport operations were also restricted to reduce obstacles during the busiest hours.
In Madrid, however, the start ended up being less complicated than the first tailbacks had suggested. After the initial problems on the A-2, A-3 and M-40, many access routes recovered their flow, and the exit towards Valencia remained one of the afternoon’s most sensitive points.
The day once again confirmed Rivas’s role as one of the barometers of Madrid traffic during major travel periods. When thousands of drivers take the A-3 at the same time, a few kilometres between the capital and the municipality are enough to concentrate much of the delay before traffic spreads out again on the way to Levante.