Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida has announced the completion of the excavation for the entrance tunnel to the capital. This section extends from the Padre Piquer Avenue interchange to the connection with the M-30 underground section on Portugal Avenue. This significant milestone allows for the surface landscaping work to commence in September.
With an investment exceeding 400 million euros, the project to underground the Extremadura highway covers an area of 100,000 square meters. The primary goal is to cover the road and transform the space into the Southwest Green Promenade, a 3.2-kilometer walkable green axis that will connect with Madrid Río, Casa de Campo, and Cuña Verde de Latina.
“"We are definitively presenting the completed south tunnel, 3.2 kilometers in the southbound direction finished from the excavation and piling perspective. The only thing left is to make the connection with the M-30."
Martínez-Almeida, accompanied by the Delegate of Urban Planning, Environment, and Mobility, Borja Carabante, and the Councilor for Latina, Alberto González, highlighted that where there were previously four lanes in each direction, residents will now enjoy 80,000 square meters of green areas. He described this intervention as "the greatest urban transformation that has occurred in the city of Madrid over the last decades" and expressed gratitude for the "generosity and patience" of the residents for the disruptions experienced.
The total tunnel excavation is 83% complete, with the entrance direction to Madrid fully executed and the exit direction (north tunnel) at 70%, expected to be completed by May. In June, the installation of the beams for the Batán and Boadilla structures will begin, concluding in July, which will help reduce construction noise. The entire tunnel will be operational by the end of the year, and the urbanization of the Southwest Green Promenade will start in September.
