Rafael González, chair of the department of infrastructure of the Formentera Council, has announced that Monday September 12 will see the start of construction on the unpaved road that grants access to the rubbish tip (known locally as the Deixalleria) located in Sant Francesc's industrial park.

Besides a freshly resurfaced thoroughfare, the project will bring to the area services like santitation, drinking water, power, street lighting and high-speed internet. The work is scheduled last four months and carries a pricetag of €600,000.

The road, said González, will be closed to traffic during construction, meaning access to the tip will be limited to a single road that links to the site's central entrance. The temporary connector, which is marked with signage, also provides access to the island's vehicle test site, ITV.

At a special plenary session convened today, members of the Formentera Council voted to grant definitive approval to a project to resurface roads and update infrastructure for utilities in es Pujols. Today's vote means the start of a call for bids on the project, which will impact the centre of Es Pujols as well as the town's waterfront promenade and is scheduled to begin November 1.

The improvements come with a budget of €2,445,750.68 and must be completed within six months, putting the deadline somwhere before the start of summer. As CiF infrastructure councillor Rafael González pointed out, conditions set out fines should delays occur: six thousand euros a day if any part of the project is “partially complete”; a daily six-thousand-euro fee —plus 5% of the total price tag— should any delays affect the project's final date of completion.

Revamped services
Plans call to overhaul several services: sanitation (rain water and sewage), water supply (for fire hydrants and street cleaning), electricity and IT. The road will also be resurfaced with the same type of stone used in a remodel of another Es Pujols arterial, carrer Roca Plana. The works will integrate Es Pujol's promenade with the beach and aesthetic improvements will be made. Moving forward, Councillor González described it as “the first phase of a broader beautification plan in Es Pujols whose final objective is to make the town's main roads partially, if not fully, pedestrian-use only”.

Earlier today in a one-off plenary session, CiF council members adopted —despite abstention from Compromís per Formentera— a plan to repave an arterial and reconstruct various pieces of urban furniture in Es Pujols. Construction, which will affect the centre of Es Pujols as well as the passeig marítim, the town's waterside promenade, will begin November 1, reported the Council's infrastructure councillor Rafael González.

The improvements will include a full reconstruction of utilities in the area: sanitation (rain water collection and sewage), water supply (fire hydrants and street cleaning), electricity and telecommunication. The street in question will be repaved using the same stone as what was employed for a remodel of carrer Roca Plana. Other changes will involve a new, integrated seaside walkway and various aesthetic improvements, including removing a stone wall and creating a wooden promenade.

The project has an estimated price tag of 2,445,750.68 euros and is expected to be complete in six months. This year a budget line for some 330,000 euros will be freed up in order to cover construction costs. Said Councillor González, next year, the remaining cost will be covered by a combination of the Council's own, as well as external, funding.

The Formentera Council Office of Infrastructure has reported on a recently-completed initiative to install new fencing around the island's primary schools. The project included switching out the old fence that circled Mestre Lluís Andreu primary school (200 metres at the upper building and 185 m at the lower building) for a new one. Similar substitutions were made in Sant Ferran, where 60 m of fence were replaced, and la Mola (43 m of exterior fencing and 45 m around the early learning playground). The cost of the projects was 21,000 euros plus VAT.

To ensure school-zone road safety, the vehicle speed limit has been set at 30 km per hour and new signage is up with both vertical signs and painted indications on the asphalt. The signs are in place at Sa Miranda nursery school, Camí Vell nursery school, Mestre Lluís Andreu, Sant Ferran and la Mola primary schools and Marc Ferrer secondary school. Materials for the project ran €600 and labour was handled by Council staff.