Over 575,000 motorists to leave Barcelona area over Easter break

Catalonia is bracing for a surge in holiday traffic as more than 575,000 motorists are expected to leave the Barcelona area between Thursday and Friday for the Easter holidays. 

The Catalan Traffic Agency (SCT) has urged drivers to take extra care, especially on Friday and Saturday afternoons, when more accidents are expected. 

The director of the SCT, Ramon Lamiel, explained that most accidents during the holidays occur on secondary roads close to where travellers are staying. In addition, 60% of accidents occur in the afternoon, mainly due to increased fatigue or poor visibility. 

Most people will be travelling to the mountain regions or the Catalan coast, both the Costa Brava in the north and the Costa Daurada in the south. Most of the traffic will be concentrated on the AP-7, Catalonia's main motorway, which has seen a major increase in traffic since the removal of tolls two years ago. 

To ease congestion on the motorway, the SCT will, for the first time, add two extra exit lanes to the AP-7 motorway, which runs along the Mediterranean coast and links Catalonia with France and Valencia. 

The two additional lanes will be opened on Thursday and will be located in the north between Montornès del Vallès, near Barcelona, and Sils, in Girona, and in the south between Martorell, near Barcelona, and Banyeres del Penedès, in Tarragona. The speed limit on these sections will be 100 km/h in both directions.

The SCT will launch the special operation at 3pm on Thursday, with the peak of departures expected between then and midday on Friday. The operation will conclude at midnight on Easter Monday, by which time 590,000 vehicles are expected to have returned home. 

Lamiel explained that weather conditions are not expected to have a significant impact on traffic, as rain is not expected to cause any problems during the departure operation. However, the SCT said it would be vigilant on the return journey, especially on Sunday afternoon.

"We are relatively worried because rain can cause us problems in setting up the operations, but the forecast changes every six hours and we will have everything ready," he said. 

Police will conduct 1,540 checks 

Catalan Police Mossos d'Esquadra will carry out more than 1,500 checks over the long weekend, with more than 1,700 traffic officers involved in the operation.  

Commissioner Carles Anfruns said the police would carry out 413 alcohol and drug checks, 251 passive safety checks, 231 motorcycle checks, 302 distraction checks, 233 speed checks and 110 traffic checks. 

Anfruns stressed that motorcycles are the vehicles of greatest concern, as of the 27 fatal accidents that occurred in 2024, 5 involved motorcycles.