Flooding and subsequent traffic disruptions on the N-634 highway in Etxebarri have once again underscored the need for a solution to the long-standing problem the municipality has been demanding for decades. Last Saturday's heavy rains once again shed light on an old issue, demonstrating the urgent need to fix the junction that connects the two parts of the municipality.
This problem, which has been awaiting a solution for nearly 30 years, has been the subject of repeated requests from the Etxebarri City Council to the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. The first Territorial Sectorial Plan (PTS) for roads, approved in 1999, already acknowledged the problem and proposed a solution. In 2010, there was an attempt to begin tunneling works with the construction of the new Baskonia footbridge, but everything was halted a few months later.
The current situation highlights the deficiencies of a junction that requires urgent intervention. The traffic stoppage prevented access to the San Antonio neighborhood, underscoring the need for a definitive solution that guarantees safe and adequate mobility between the two areas of the municipality.
The 1999 Road Plan foresaw a solution that the City Council considered insufficient, as it did not adequately address pedestrian and cycle communications. The council requested a wider footbridge, but the Provincial Council indicated that its financing would have to be borne by the City Council.
Currently, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia is preparing the II PTS of Roads, which mentions an "improvement of access to Etxebarri" instead of tunneling. Following a meeting, the City Council was informed that there are no specific details about the solution for Etxebarri, as the PTS does not go into that level of detail. This means that, 27 years after the first PTS, not only have there been no definitive advances, but the few that might have occurred have returned to square one.
The City Council insists on the need for a solution that guarantees a safe and dignified pedestrian and cycle connection. Furthermore, they demand that the Provincial Council finance the action, as the N-634 is a road under its ownership. A temporary measure to prevent flooding while advancing towards a definitive solution has also been requested.
