As the August holidays get underway, 2.7 million journeys are expected to be undertaken between 3pm today and midnight Wednesday August the 1st. As such the Spanish DGT (Traffic Department) have started their second “Operation Salida” of the summer months in an effort to improve the flow of traffic and reduce accidents.
The worst traffic problems are expected this afternoon and evening as holidaymakers head out of the big cities towards the coast, with holidaymakers also returning to the cities at the end of their vacations.
The routes which will be most affected will be Castilla-La Mancha, Valencia, Murcia and Andalucia.
To help improve the smooth flow of traffic for the two days, the DGT have installed additional lanes on major access roads to the big cities and will also restrict the movement of lorries, unusual loads and dangerous goods. Additionally alternative routes have been put in place to avoid roadworks.
The traffic police will have 10,000 Guardia Civil officers plus 600 staff in the Traffic Management Centers, and 13,000 road maintenance staff on duty over this period.
In total over 40 million journeys are expected to be made in the month of August.