Galicia: in search of lost time

By Álvaro J. Díaz-Mella

There's a phrase many Galicians have heard at some point: "Pepe Cuiña died, and road construction in Galicia stopped." As with so many popular expressions, it's probably an exaggeration, but it didn't come from nowhere. It reflects a widespread perception: for decades, Galicia developed a large road network, but it still has significant unfinished projects.

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For a while, my wife worked in Cee. Every morning, leaving Vigo at six in the morning, she had to travel the 136 kilometers to her workplace. At the end of the day, she had to return home. Almost four hours a day behind the wheel just to get there and back.

We often talk about highways, budgets, or kilometers built. But a road isn't measured solely by the amount of asphalt it carries, but by the time it gives back to people: the time a worker gains for their family, the time it allows an ambulance to arrive faster, the time it helps a company be more competitive, or the time it makes it easier for a student to get to school.

Galicia needs to complete the network started in the last century to better connect its four provinces.

It would be unfair to deny the progress. Today we have a network of highways unthinkable forty years ago. The Atlantic Axis efficiently connects La Coruña, Santiago, Pontevedra, and Vigo, and connections with Madrid and Portugal have improved dramatically. However, inland connections are still far from that level. Precisely for this reason, it is more difficult to understand why some of the most important roads remain unfinished.

The real test begins when we leave the major highways. That's when the differences become apparent. Ourense and Lugo, separated by a mere 94 kilometers, still require an hour and a half of travel. The same is true for traveling just over 90 kilometers between Lugo and Viveiro on secondary roads, hindering the development of the Lugo coast.

But good transport links don't depend solely on roads. They also require public transport capable of competing with private vehicles. An 18-kilometer journey between Vigo and Playa América can take almost an hour by bus. Last week, my sister needed fifty minutes and two buses to travel just 7.2 kilometers to the Álvaro Cunqueiro Hospital. Such a short journey ceased to be merely a transportation issue. It also affected her access to healthcare and her quality of life.

Public transport will only improve when it allows people to arrive faster, with fewer transfers and schedules adapted to daily life. Transport infrastructure and services must be designed with people's actual journeys in mind, not administrative boundaries. The chronic gridlock of metropolitan transport in southern Galicia is the best example of how political localism harms the user.

The Atlantic Axis is one of the greatest achievements of recent decades, but much remains to be done. Projects like the A-56 and A-76 are progressing at a snail's pace, and many of the rural roads offer services unbecoming of the 21st century.

Responsibility is shared. The central government manages the main highways, the Galician regional government (Xunta) manages the regional roads, and the provincial councils manage the extensive network used daily by inland residents. Past governments promoted much of what we use today and also left projects unfinished. Historical responsibilities do not replace present ones. The current Minister of Transport must explain why projects like the A-56 and A-76 remain stalled. In November 2025, the government itself acknowledged before Congress the minimal progress on the N-540 highway, twenty months after construction began. Ultimately, each administration should be judged by the projects it starts, completes, or leaves unfinished.

Today, it's easier to grab headlines with a big festival than by finishing a road. A concert generates immediate impact; a road takes years, but it gives back time, safety, and opportunities for decades.

Governing is about making decisions whose benefits future generations will enjoy. Galicia has the technical capacity and experience to complete the major pending connections. The challenge isn't starting over, but finishing what was left unfinished so that where a Galician is born or lives doesn't determine their opportunities or the time they lose each day.

Because, in the end, the best road isn't the one that adds the most kilometers, but the one that gives the most time back to people's lives.

Álvaro J. Díaz-Mella
Vigo, 2026

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Álvaro J. Díaz-Mella is a happily retired man from Vigo who is already gray-haired and has too many opinions about what he sees in our imperfect society.

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Translated by Elentir / Photo: Elentir.