Once Upon a Snowy Highway
The road from Galicia to Madrid is called the A-6. It is a newish highway that has taken the place of the old road, the N-VI. It's the fastest and most direct way to get there from here. Taking advantage of its relative speed, and the ease of crossing the Guadarrama mountains through its tunnel, it becomes a tollway from Adanero, about twenty kilometers before the tunnel. It ain't cheap. If I remember correctly from the last time I travelled along it, it costs about eleven or twelve euros from Adanero to the emergence from the tunnel on the other side of the mountains.
Last Saturday was Epiphany, a national holiday here, and almost the end of Christmas vacation. Many decided to travel home that day, instead of Sunday. The forecast was for snow in the mountains, but the Dirección General de Tráfico, charged with keeping traffic moving fluidly, announced on its web page that all roads were passable. They announced this well into the afternoon, when that was no longer the case. Just after nightfall, around six thirty, the snow began to fall more heavily. The thirty or so snowplows working the highway weren't enough to keep things moving, yet there was no call to the ministry in Madrid to send out more. Traffic began slowing down, then it got to a crawl, then it just stopped. People started to become alarmed as the snow kept coming down, cars didn't move, and no snowplow appeared anywhere. Calls were being constantly made to the emergency number, 112. The operators placated the drivers, saying operatives were on their way to plow and open up the highway.
All night, people were stuck in their cars. Those that had enough gas, kept the engines running to have some warmth. Those that, like me, would have the needle edging to empty at that point in their travels, had to bundle up in someone else's car. Entire families with children were trapped on the highway. At least people were kind to one another, and helped each other in what they could. Those who were stuck close to a gas station, spent the night inside. But not one employee of the Ministerio de Fomento (Public Works) showed up all night. It was the next morning that the UME (Unidad Militar de Emergencias, Emergency Military Unit) branch of the army appeared. They shoveled out the drivers and cleaned the highway to make it passable once more. About 3,000 vehicles had to be helped.
Other highways that branched off from this one that went to Ávila and Segovia were also impassable. There were others in the north; one was cut off for a short distance and all those stuck were evacuated to a small nearby town where they were put up for the night in a public gym, a small hotel, and private homes. Another highway was blocked when a tractor trailer jackknifed on the underlying ice. But the ministerial offices in Madrid remained mute. The next morning, when angry drivers were complaining, and the images were all over the news, the DGT started blaming the drivers for not having informed themselves of the meteorological circumstances and not having set off prepared with chains for the car. (Yes, when it snows heavily cars are obliged to put chains on their tires in Spain; the habit of snow tires has never caught on here.)
People were outraged. Until shortly before the highway became an impossibility, and cars were already on it, there was no call to close it. Many who had checked the DGT's web page before setting off on their trip did not find any warning against using the highway. Then, seeing public opinion getting more heated than a boiling lobster, the government changed its tune, and started blaming the company that runs the highway, Iberpistas, a subsidiary of Abertis. But the Minister of Fomento (Public Works), has never admitted that the government is the final responsible for road safety. Because, even though a portion of a highway is a private tollway, it still belongs to the national infrastructure, and the ultimate responsible for its upkeep is the government. Once the snow started, if the government could not get a straight answer from Iberpistas on whether or not the company could handle snow removal, they had to send in snowplows and salt spreaders immediately.
The irony of it all is that when the Socialists were in power, and something similar happened one winter on a different highway, Rajoy, as leader of the opposition party, heavily criticized the Socialist government for the same failure he is now guilty of. Yet now he, and everyone else in his government, will not admit that they share in the blame. Nor will anyone step down, admitting they had not done their jobs correctly, as they had demanded of the Socialists back then. Pot, meet the kettle.
Last Saturday was Epiphany, a national holiday here, and almost the end of Christmas vacation. Many decided to travel home that day, instead of Sunday. The forecast was for snow in the mountains, but the Dirección General de Tráfico, charged with keeping traffic moving fluidly, announced on its web page that all roads were passable. They announced this well into the afternoon, when that was no longer the case. Just after nightfall, around six thirty, the snow began to fall more heavily. The thirty or so snowplows working the highway weren't enough to keep things moving, yet there was no call to the ministry in Madrid to send out more. Traffic began slowing down, then it got to a crawl, then it just stopped. People started to become alarmed as the snow kept coming down, cars didn't move, and no snowplow appeared anywhere. Calls were being constantly made to the emergency number, 112. The operators placated the drivers, saying operatives were on their way to plow and open up the highway.
All night, people were stuck in their cars. Those that had enough gas, kept the engines running to have some warmth. Those that, like me, would have the needle edging to empty at that point in their travels, had to bundle up in someone else's car. Entire families with children were trapped on the highway. At least people were kind to one another, and helped each other in what they could. Those who were stuck close to a gas station, spent the night inside. But not one employee of the Ministerio de Fomento (Public Works) showed up all night. It was the next morning that the UME (Unidad Militar de Emergencias, Emergency Military Unit) branch of the army appeared. They shoveled out the drivers and cleaned the highway to make it passable once more. About 3,000 vehicles had to be helped.
Other highways that branched off from this one that went to Ávila and Segovia were also impassable. There were others in the north; one was cut off for a short distance and all those stuck were evacuated to a small nearby town where they were put up for the night in a public gym, a small hotel, and private homes. Another highway was blocked when a tractor trailer jackknifed on the underlying ice. But the ministerial offices in Madrid remained mute. The next morning, when angry drivers were complaining, and the images were all over the news, the DGT started blaming the drivers for not having informed themselves of the meteorological circumstances and not having set off prepared with chains for the car. (Yes, when it snows heavily cars are obliged to put chains on their tires in Spain; the habit of snow tires has never caught on here.)
People were outraged. Until shortly before the highway became an impossibility, and cars were already on it, there was no call to close it. Many who had checked the DGT's web page before setting off on their trip did not find any warning against using the highway. Then, seeing public opinion getting more heated than a boiling lobster, the government changed its tune, and started blaming the company that runs the highway, Iberpistas, a subsidiary of Abertis. But the Minister of Fomento (Public Works), has never admitted that the government is the final responsible for road safety. Because, even though a portion of a highway is a private tollway, it still belongs to the national infrastructure, and the ultimate responsible for its upkeep is the government. Once the snow started, if the government could not get a straight answer from Iberpistas on whether or not the company could handle snow removal, they had to send in snowplows and salt spreaders immediately.
The irony of it all is that when the Socialists were in power, and something similar happened one winter on a different highway, Rajoy, as leader of the opposition party, heavily criticized the Socialist government for the same failure he is now guilty of. Yet now he, and everyone else in his government, will not admit that they share in the blame. Nor will anyone step down, admitting they had not done their jobs correctly, as they had demanded of the Socialists back then. Pot, meet the kettle.
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