More than half of the Spanish road network is in serious disrepair.

Spain's roads are going through the worst period in their recent history, according to the latest alarming report from the Spanish Road Association (AEC). The study [CLICK HERE TO ACCESS] reveals that more than half of the road network (52%) is in serious and very serious condition, increasing the cumulative investment gap in maintenance to €13.491 billion.

The situation has worsened exponentially over the past three years. Since the AEC's last assessment in 2022, the number of kilometers with very serious pavement deterioration requiring urgent reconstruction has tripled, rising from 13,000 to 34,000 kilometers (32% of the total network).

An additional 20,407 kilometers require interventions classified as "major" within a maximum of four years. This means that, within four years, more than 54,000 kilometers (more than half of the 101,700 km network) will require interventions, a situation not seen since the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The increase in the accumulated investment deficit, which adds an additional €4.038 billion to the €9.453 billion in 2022, is partly explained by the rise in raw material and personnel prices (20%), but the remaining 23% is directly attributable to the continued deterioration of the infrastructure, which has advanced at a rate of 8% per year over the last three years. Of the €13.491 billion required, €4.721 billion corresponds to the national network (26,000 km) and €8.770 billion to the regional and provincial networks (75,300 km).

Poor road conditions not only hinder progress toward safer, greener, and more connected infrastructure—threatening the decarbonization of transport and the reduction of fatalities by 2030—but also directly impact drivers' wallets.

Driving on deteriorated roads increases fuel consumption by up to 12%. The AEC estimates that, during the months of July and August this summer alone, the more than 100 million trips predicted by the DGT will generate an additional fuel cost of more than €270 million, which amounts to an additional €4.5 million per day.

Furthermore, the deterioration forces a 10% reduction in average traffic speed, increasing travel times (12.5% ​​for trucks, 25% for buses, and 20% for light vehicles). This increase in operating costs for freight and passenger transport will, according to AEC calculations, lead to a 10% increase in the final price of products.

The Spanish Road Association reiterates its demand for a comprehensive, sustainable, and independent funding framework for road maintenance, supported by the General State and Regional Budgets, European Funds, usage-based pricing systems, and public-private partnerships.

A key measure, according to the AEC, would be the elimination of the exemption from the special hydrocarbon tax for rail, maritime, and air transport. This measure, which would generate €4.091 billion annually according to the Corell Foundation, would reverse the conservation deficit in just over three years, promoting "tax equity" between modes of transport.

The report analyzes the problem by Autonomous Community, highlighting Aragon as the region with the most critical situation, with 68% of its road network showing serious deterioration (16% above the national average). Castilla-La Mancha and Galicia are close behind, both with 59% of their networks in serious condition. At the other extreme, with the lowest percentage of roads in significant deterioration, are the Valencian Community, Madrid, Extremadura, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Navarre, Andalusia, and Catalonia.

The AEC analysis was conducted for the first time using digital inspection technology using Artificial Intelligence, capturing dynamic images across 4,000 kilometers of the road network. This methodology, developed on European servers and complying with privacy and cybersecurity regulations, allowed for the detection of deterioration with much higher resolution and in a sample size ten times larger than that of the previous visual inspection.