The works consist of creating a promenade and a provisional garden of the aqueduct, preparing the square and highlighting the node of irrigation channels in the area
The conditioning works around the La Ñora wheel, in Murcia, will foreseeably be completed next spring, according to the Murcia City Council in a statement. The action has an execution budget of 323,000 euros. During a visit to the hamlet, the Councilor for Urbanism and Ecological Transition, Andrés Guerrero, explained that it is a comprehensive action that will enhance this historic monument.
«The Ñora aqueduct and wheel is an enclave of maximum heritage value due to the importance of the monument. In addition, in a unique way, several of the routes of the Huerta cross in this environment, which also constitutes a main node of the irrigation network, since two new ditches are born here: Alfatego and Churra la Vieja, from the Mayor from La Aljufía, “Guerrero said.
Thus, this project consists of the adaptation of the surroundings of the Rueda de La Ñora, with the aim of carrying out the works and appropriate actions for, through the reorganization of the public space (road, sidewalks and garden areas), to create an environment of urban and landscape quality around the monument, which favors a better enjoyment and understanding of it by visitors and neighbors, as well as a better integration of this enclave with the present and future structure of roads and paths of the Huerta de Murcia, and its landscape and cultural values.
Works in progress
Among the works that are in progress is the construction of a tree-lined pedestrian walkway that connects the district with the monument by replacing the current parking strip and sidewalk with a new sidewalk and a linear tree-lined parterre to shade the walk. A single lane for road traffic will be maintained until leaving the scope of action.
In addition, the creation of a provisional garden parallel to the aqueduct is contemplated, expanding the current one and removing the existing buildings and walls. This space is understood as an archaeological reserve area that will allow future excavations to be planned to discover the buried part of the monument. Thanks to the sum of these two actions, it will be possible to largely recover the original situation of the aqueduct as an isolated element surrounded by a non-built environment.
The central space will also be unified with the demolition of the wall that adjoins the easement space of the Churra la Vieja canal, greatly increasing the dimension and quality of the space and connections that will become the anteroom of the monument.
The road will be raised to the level of the sidewalk by means of a ramp and from here the paving material (cobblestone) will be unified to warn the driver of the vehicle that they are entering a platform of coexistence with the pedestrian, in which the uses will be they will distinguish according to the treatment of the pavement. This will achieve a great sense of integration and spaciousness.
The square constitutes the central space of this project. It is a continuous paving stone floor with a plantation of four large trees (hackberries) that protect it from the sun in summer, allowing it to enter in winter. It is here where the meetings and events with the largest number of attendees will take place, such as the beginnings of group visits, small performances and celebrations, among others.
To facilitate this use, a small stepped tier of cobblestone and white marble will be created, topped with a raised planter. The garden above this planter culminates the square with an attractive perspective background that also partially conceals the dividing wall of the adjoining house.
Another objective is to make visible and value the ditches that occur in this environment is one of the main objectives of the project. To do this, open channels will be created in the two ditches that pass under the scope of intervention, currently hidden. For this purpose, a mixed section is proposed, with a reinforced concrete channel base through which the water circulates, and a land finish on a broken slope vegetated with riverside species and with guardrail guardrail protection.
At the beginning of these sections, a sign will be placed on the fence indicating the name of each canal (Alfatego and Churra la Vieja). The uncovered section of Churra La Vieja has an important presence in the square, with which it integrates creating an environment that goes naturally towards the green path. The uncovered section of the Alfatego canal borders to the north with the dividing fence of a neighbor, and to the south with the garden of traditional uses.
Between the right bank of the uncovered Alfatego canal and the sidewalk of Calle Rueda, a small triangular garden of simple configuration will be created. The species chosen for this enclosure will add the condition of a small ethnobotanical garden.
On the section in which the Churra La Vieja ditch will be piped, exclusively gardening tasks will be carried out, which will consist of conditioning the space by creating a path framed by native riverside vegetation. In the future, this path could be extended by becoming one of the backbone of the landscape, connecting districts, monuments and unique corners of the garden.
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