Overview
- Central and Basque governments have agreed to drop the Aralar tunnel and carry out geological surveys only on the so‑called third route that skirts the sierra.
- The Ministry of Transport concluded that Aralar’s porous, karstic rock makes tunneling highly complex, leading to the formal rejection of that option.
- Gipuzkoa’s provincial government welcomed the focus on the third route after recent disputes over delays, and officials say they will work to prevent municipal hold‑ups.
- PSE-EE’s José Ignacio Asensio said some municipalities have refused access for the surveys, which authorities cite as a key reason for the lag.
- The third alignment broadly follows the Alavese option to Bakaiku before curving to avoid Alsasua and Aralar, delivering similar travel times with less impact and trimming the longest tunnel by about 2.5 km to roughly 20 km; local business groups favor the Ezkio route for competitiveness.