Catalan and Spanish governments reach €914m deal on B-40 road extension

The Catalan and Spanish governments have reached an agreement worth €914 million to extend the B-40 road.

The expansion of the B-40 highway was part of the agreement for the Catalan Socialists to support Esquerra's budget deal in the Catalan parliament back in January, and the transfer of the funds for various infrastructure projects is a part of a deal made for ERC to support the Spanish government's 2023 budget.

The deal has not been signed by any of the parties yet, but is expected to be by the end of this week before the start of the electoral campaign. 

The B-40 is a road that crosses the Vallès Occidental county, a region north of Barcelona crossing the cities of Terrassa, Sabadell, and Castellar del Vallès. 

Marra Farrés, the mayor of Sabadell, celebrated the news and explained to the Catalan News Agency that Sabadell "needs this system of ring roads to continue growing and to take traffic out of the city."

The expansion of this road was supposed to be signed by spring, but it was not until the new territory minister, Ester Capella, entered the Catalan government that the deal was reached.

The agreement also foresees improvement works to be carried out on the C-32 road, the main highway north of Barcelona along the coast, as well as on the accesses of the AP-7, AP-2, and N-260 roads. 

The transit link between the Rodalies and Ferrocarrils (FGC) train stations in Sant Cugat del Vallès is another piece of infrastructure that is included in the deal. 

Foment del Treball, the largest business organization in Catalonia, celebrated the deal in a tweet, remarking that it is "relevant for the region and will bring competitiveness to Vallès area."