Port de Valldemossa road shuts after slide

Port de Valldemossa, Mallorca, has just one access road: urgent repairs close it to most traffic from Tuesday, 10 November. The Consell de Mallorca, the island council, begins work after a landslide at kilometre 2 brought down a wall on 21 October. Repairs are expected to take about 15 days and cost around 200,000 euros.

Europa Press

During the work, only the Port’s ten residents and the staff and customers of its sole restaurant may use the road. Even they must travel in vehicles weighing less than 3,500 kilograms. Before the landslide, an average of 600 vehicles used the road each day.

Heavy rain from storm Adam caused the landslide. The fallen wall was 15 metres wide and eight metres high. The road dates from 1869 and has suffered earlier incidents, but the council says this is the worst on record.

Workers plan to bring down part of the slope below the road in a controlled way, then clear and stabilise the area to reduce the risk of material falling onto the road when traffic returns. They will add a two-metre-high protective barrier and reinforce the collapsed wall with steel bars and a supporting surface layer. The affected stretch will be resurfaced after the structural work.

Mallorca's Port de Valldemossa road shuts after landslide