The municipal government advocates for an 11.5 million euro investment to rehabilitate the area beneath the bridge, a measure that has been heavily criticized. Opposition groups, such as the PSOE and Más Madrid, along with the FRAVM, agree that the proposal is limited and demand the definitive dismantling of the infrastructure.
“"A limited and provisional intervention."
The socialist spokesperson in the City Council has described the plan as a «cosmetic action» that fails to address the urban fracture between the districts of Retiro and Puente de Vallecas. According to this spokesperson, the infrastructure continues to generate noise and pollution, affecting residents' quality of life. The PSOE believes that an opportunity for a comprehensive solution is being missed, linking the problem to the Abroñigal operation.
“"You cannot sell as a great transformation what is a provisional patch."
For its part, the spokesperson for Más Madrid recalled that in March 2021, the municipal plenary unanimously approved the 'Conecta Vallecas' proposal for the bridge's dismantling. For Más Madrid, the current project is a «facelift» that ignores the political and neighborhood will expressed five years ago. The group criticizes that the facilities planned under the infrastructure do not address the neighborhood's shortcomings, such as youth centers or libraries.
The Regional Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Madrid (FRAVM) and the Coordinator of Neighborhood Associations of Puente de Vallecas have reacted with particular harshness, calling the plan an «absurd waste». They argue that vertical gardens and the pedestrianization of specific sections are useless against the atmospheric pollution generated by the 170,000 vehicles that travel daily on the M-30 at that point.
“"Spending 11.5 million on a «cosmetic» operation is throwing away public money."
The federation demands that this budget be allocated to historical demands of the district, such as the construction of the municipal library on Monte Oliveti Street, the execution of the Vallecas School of Music, and the opening of a public facility in the former Fernán Caballero school. Neighborhood representatives consider it a «poor excuse» that the mayor made the bridge's removal conditional on the Abroñigal operation, thus evading municipal responsibility for the health of the 120,000 inhabitants of the San Diego, Numancia, and Adelfas neighborhoods.
