A-7 motorway

Caleta de Velez A-7 junction finally gets €6.6 million green light

Published

14 hours ago

September 22, 2026

admin

Drivers in Caleta de Velez could soon have easier access to the A-7 motorway after Spain’s Transport Ministry gave final approval to a €6.6 million junction upgrade to be built.

Caleta de Velez A-7 junction gets final approval

Plans will turn the semi-junction at kilometre 951 into a full interchange, adding two new slip roads and two roundabouts.

At present, drivers can leave the A-7 when travelling from Malaga and join the motorway towards Malaga. Missing connections mean drivers cannot join the A-7 towards Almeria or leave it when travelling from Almeria.

New roundabouts will be placed on either side of the motorway, linked by the underpass. Connections will be made to the road between Velez-Malaga and Caleta de Velez.

More than 20 years of waiting

Completion has been discussed for more than two decades, with politicians, business groups and public bodies repeatedly calling for the missing links. Pressure continued in recent years, including a unanimous 2024 motion by the Mancomunidad Axarquia Costa del Sol calling for the junction to be completed.

Velez-Malaga mayor Jesus Lupiañez renewed the request in June 2026, asking the Transport Ministry to speed up the project. Pressure has come through political statements, parliamentary questions, business groups and institutional motions.

What happens next?

The project was approved provisionally in September 2025, when the government also declared it urgent. A public information process followed before final approval. The €6.6 million budget covers the new ramps, roundabouts, connections and an affected service road. Two new speed-change lanes will also be built, without changes to the A-7 carriageway.

Publication of the final approval in Spain’s Official State Gazette, the BOE, is expected next. No date has been announced for the construction tender or start of works.

For residents and drivers, the change could make journeys between Caleta de Velez, Velez-Malaga and the A-7 towards Almeria more straightforward.

Related Topics:A-7 motorway Axarquia Caleta de Velez

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A-7 motorway

Friday road closures: La Vuelta will halt Costa del Sol traffic from Velez to Estepona

Published

2 weeks ago

September 10, 2026

admin

Stage 19 of La Vuelta a España 2026 rolls out on Friday, September 11 from Velez-Malaga to Peñas Blancas above Estepona. Drivers should treat it as a rolling shutdown, not a single blockage: police will close each stretch shortly before the caravan arrives and reopen once the last riders and team cars have gone. Being a Friday at the beginning of September, expect possible tailbacks forming around late lunchtime. Many schools plan to close early to avoid problems during the school run, so don’t get caught unawares.

Morning start in the Axarquia

Parking bans in Velez-Malaga already run from 7am Thursday until about 5pm Friday around the bus station, Mercado Mayoristas, Blas Infante, Axarquia and Carretera de Loja. Cars left there risk a tow. Neutralised riding begins about 11.50am; the official start is due at 12.06pm after 8.3km through town, then the N-340 towards Benajarafe and Rincon de la Victoria. Access cuts can start 40 minutes earlier. More detail on the start zone is in our Velez-Malaga traffic briefing.

Malaga city from late morning

Barriers go up from 11.30am. Riders are expected on Carretera de Almeria around 12.40pm and to take roughly half an hour through the east, centre and west: Juan Sebastian Elcano, Pintor Joaquin Sorolla, Paseo Maritimo Picasso, Canovas del Castillo, Plaza Torrijos, Paseo del Parque, Alameda Principal, Avenida de Andalucia, Blas Infante and the A-357 towards Cartama. Most EMT bus lines will divert; 15, 18, 22, 27 and 28 are the usual exceptions. Use the rondas if you can.

Westbound A-7 and the finish climb

San Pedro Alcantara sees the race mid-afternoon, around 3.30pm to 4.26pm. Cadiz-bound A-7 traffic at km 1053, just before the Ronda exit, will stop for about 30 minutes. Queues can build from 2pm. See our A-7 San Pedro warning.

Estepona streets are due between 4.20pm and 4.28pm, then the MA-8301 climb to Peñas Blancas. Finish times sit roughly 5.14pm to 5.47pm. That mountain road stays shut far longer than a town-centre hop. That sound very precise as though it has been planned with a great deal of experience. Let’s hope that experience has taken the Costa del Sol’s famous potholes into consideration.

Leave early, skip the race line, and watch DGT plus local police feeds. Official distances and maps are on La Vuelta’s route page and DGT traffic. Probably the biggest disruption will be between San Pedro Alcantara and Estepona on the A7 at around 4pm.