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Date Published: 15/05/2026

Murcia's Northwest Ring Road cuts traffic jams by more than half in first weeks

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New figures show major improvements around Espinardo and the A-7 after long-awaited road fully opened in March

Murcia's Northwest Ring Road cuts traffic jams by more than half in first weeks

Murcia’s long-awaited Northwest Ring Road is already making a noticeable difference for drivers across the metropolitan area, with new figures showing sharp reductions in congestion and traffic delays at some of the region’s busiest bottlenecks.

Less than two months after the final section opened between Las Torres de Cotillas and Alcantarilla, traffic experts say the infrastructure is beginning to deliver on promises to ease pressure around the Espinardo junction and the western side of the city. The final stretch of the Northwest Ring Road officially opened in March after years of construction work and delays.

According to data presented during the 11th Mobility and Road Safety Conference at UCAM, traffic on the MU-32 heading towards Murcia has fallen by almost 60%, while vehicle numbers on sections of the A-7 have dropped by between 15% and 25% in both directions.

Carla Tomás, director of the Levante Traffic Management Centre for the DGT, said the impact is already clear for motorists. “This basically translates into fewer hours that citizens spend stuck in traffic or stopped on the road to reach their destination,” she explained.

The figures are especially significant around the Espinardo interchange, which has long struggled with a mix of local traffic, commuter journeys and vehicles travelling between Andalucía, the Levante coast and inland Spain.

During Easter, the new road also appeared to dramatically reduce congestion. DGT figures showed a 72% drop in traffic jam times on roads affected by the new infrastructure, while incidents of major hold-ups fell from 83 during the 2025 Easter operation to just 29 this year.

Average traffic speeds have also become far more stable. Instead of regular slowdowns to between 20 and 40 km/h, vehicles are now maintaining average speeds closer to 100 km/h on affected stretches.

Tomás described the ring road as an “escape valve” for the area’s chronic traffic problems, although she acknowledged it is still too early to know the long-term impact. “We don’t know what will happen in the long term, but it looks promising,” she said.

Image: Googlemaps

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