The million-dollar project to unite the regions of Campoo and Liébana has been attracting criticism for some time among those who warn of the possible environmental problems that would arise from the construction of a road that crosses the heart of the Cantabrian Mountains. “It is difficult for there to be irreversible damage,” environmental groups such as SEO Birdlife warn about an old initiative that the Cantabrian PP Government has recovered this legislature after coming to power a year and a half ago.
And in the 90s, when former president Juan Hormaechea promoted the implementation of this work, the strong environmentalist opposition was one of the main obstacles to its success, in addition to its high cost, which today would be around 100 million, according to the estimates of the Executive led by María José Sáenz de Buruaga (PP).
At the moment, the project has been in the information phase for months prior to the environmental impact study – awarded to the company WSP Spain-Apia SAU for 420,000 euros – and foresees the construction of a new section of road from the CA-183, in Brañavieja, to kilometer point 20 of the CA-184, in Pesaguero, with two 3.5 meter wide lanes and 1 meter shoulders. In total, the road would have a length of between 14 and 20 kilometers, depending on the alternative chosen, as announced by the regional government.
Criticism of the possible environmental effects of this work is even more forceful when the usefulness of the new section is addressed. “It is not going to be any advantage for the neighbors, it is simply going to be a primarily tourist road, because everyone is going to want to go there to see this spectacular landscape without getting out of the car,” said the Cantabria delegate of SEO Birdlife. , Felipe González, in conversation with elDiario.es.
And the justification of the project itself includes the “tourist” nature of the road: “The action will allow the connection between Potes and Reinosa, substantially benefiting three regions (Liébana, Saja/Nansa and Campoo-Los Valles with a total population greater than to 60,000 inhabitants) improving connectivity between them (which is currently totally deficient with a minimum time close to two hours) and with the plateau, and at the same time will allow boosting tourism and the economy in this area favoring its growth,” states the document consulted by this newspaper.
The socialist group of Potes has also spoken out in this regard, in the words of councilor María José Bustamante Montero: “We understand that the enormous environmental cost cannot and should not be assumed, since the only motive we found to have launched this pharaonic project, announced so many times, it is none other than tourism, and we are already served by that in Liébana, since tourism comes to us through the La Hermida gorge,” he points out in statements to this medium, also highlighting that when the Alto Campoo ski resort is open due to snow, the road will be closed for that reason, because “snow is not selective.”
“There are natural spaces that have to be free of this type of infrastructure,” says González, emphasizing that, in addition, “it does not take into account objective reasons because it is not going to be a quick communication route for either Campoo or Liébana.” In fact, as the member of the environmental group emphasizes, among the alternatives contemplated was carrying out the highway through the Palencia area, but the Executive’s own report rules it out because the regulations of Castilla y León prevent the construction of new roads in its area. rural space. And this autonomous community already opposed decades ago this branch running through its territory.
“This infrastructure threatens to destroy an ecological corridor of extremely high value that includes four areas of the Natura 2000 Network, a European protection framework that guarantees the conservation of the most valuable habitats. In addition, critical habitats for biodiversity would be compromised, including oak and beech forests of community interest. This environment is home to protected species that depend on these ecosystems for their survival, and the road would represent an insurmountable barrier that would fragment their habitats, in the case of the gray partridge or the brown bear,” he stated.
The Ministry of Development directed by Roberto Media (PP) resumed this project that it describes as “long haul” 17 years after the first studies were carried out. When it announced the award of the informative and environmental impact study, Media assured that they would be completed at the beginning of 2025. Likewise, it stated that the total time necessary to have the work executed would range between 92 and 120 months, that is, close to a decade.
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