Artificial Intelligence Fails to resolve N-332 Roundabout Gridlock at Punta Prima

An experimental artificial intelligence system installed at the Rocío del Mar-Punta Prima roundabout in Torrevieja is failing to alleviate congestion, despite claims by the Ministry of Transport. The technology, the first of its kind on Spain's national road network, was introduced in May with the goal of improving traffic flow at a junction used by nearly 40,000 vehicles daily.

However, during the peak summer months of August, when population numbers surge, drivers report longer delays, heightened confusion, and increasingly angry scenes. The roundabout connects the N-332 with southern Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, and the residential areas of Punta Prima, Rocío del Mar, and Señorío de Gomendio.

Motorists claim the AI system prioritizes vehicles using the N-332 while imposing longer waits for those entering from Avenida de Las Olas and Avenida de los Escorpiones. This is particularly problematic on Avenida de Las Olas, the sole practical route to the roundabout for thousands of residents. The unpredictable behavior of the roundabout's lights, which respond to traffic volumes detected by cameras and monitoring equipment, has caused confusion among drivers.

Some accelerate at amber lights, while others are trapped at red signals for extended periods, leading to frustration and an increase in vehicles ignoring red lights.

Residents living near Avenida de Las Olas express concerns over increased noise, idling engines, and pollution caused by the system. The longest delays are typically reported on Avenida de Las Olas and the northbound N-332 approaching Torrevieja, with queues extending over a kilometer towards the Alameda del Mar roundabout during peak traffic times.

Avenida de los Escorpiones also experiences significant congestion, while traffic traveling south from Torrevieja to Orihuela Costa and Pilar de la Horadada is affected to a lesser extent.

The €409,369 project, financed through the European Union's Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, combines cameras, vehicle-detection equipment, and data-collection devices with machine learning, neural networks, traffic modeling, and traditional road-engineering techniques. The gathered data aims to enable the system to learn from changing traffic patterns and automatically adjust signal timings.

However, signs warning motorists about the surveillance cameras have been erected, although the equipment reportedly lacks automatic number-plate recognition or enforcement technology.

Transport officials acknowledge the experimental nature of the project, but similar systems elsewhere have not yet been routinely used to control roundabouts on Spain's national road network due to their variable performance. For residents, this means Punta Prima has become a testing ground, and the system continues to generate lengthy and unpredictable journeys for drivers attempting to leave their neighborhood.

Artificial intelligence proves insufficient to address the fundamental issue: decades of residential and tourism development lacking sufficient investment in road capacity or alternative public transport. Residents on both sides of the Torrevieja-Orihuela boundary argue that the long-promised widening of the N-332 through Torrevieja remains the only lasting solution.

Despite passing an environmental stage, little visible progress has been made in over a year. Motorists stuck in queues beneath the cameras find that sophisticated algorithms offer no substitute for additional lanes, better access roads, and much-needed infrastructure investment.