The work on remodelling Puerto Alcudia's Avenida Pedro Mas y Reus is due to start on Monday.
It is understood that this will be to the lower part of the road between the Siesta Apartments and the bridge. There are, and have been for some weeks, road markings on the upper section - the bridge to the Carretera Arta.
Originally presented by the previous administrations at Alcudia Town Hall and the Council of Mallorca, the project - as now defined - involves a more comprehensive improvement to infrastructure and is more costly. The budget is now some six million euros; it was previously around three million and the work was meant to have started at the end of 2023. The town hall will now be investing five million, the Council one million. Drainage, sewage, telecommunications, street lighting; these are all elements of a project that will eventually create a so-called boulevard.
Pavements are to be widened, there will still be a lane for traffic and there will also be a bike lane. Street furniture will be upgraded and the trees will be replaced by others considered to be more suited to a Mediterranean climate. Parking, which is currently available on both sides of the road, will in future be confined to the side closest to the large lake (Estany dels Ponts, or Lago Esperanza as it was previously and generally known).
Variously referred to as Dollar Street, the Greasy Mile or simply the 'strip', the road and indeed the whole area have been in need of redevelopment for years. It is at the heart of the tourism centre and is dominated by the vast Bellevue complex.
Residents have been saying they have heard that the first phase of the work will last two months. However, the latest version of the project states that there will be two phases, one of four months, the other of eight months. Even two months will have an impact for tourists; four months far more so. The period of execution for the whole project, according to the document, is until May 2027 with a start date of January 1, 2026. It is now the middle of February.
Rafel Ferrer, the councillor for public works, says the work on the first phase will last until April or May, "so as not to interfere with the tourist season; it is a very necessary project to revitalise this tourist area". It quite clearly will interfere.