Blasting on the A-32 Linares-Albacete: new environmental protocol for construction companies in 2026

Key data

Construction companies executing works on the A-32 highway Linares-Albacete can from 11 June 2026 carry out blasting during the months of February to July, a period in which they were previously completely prohibited. The Resolution of 29 May 2026 from the Directorate General for Quality and Environmental Assessment modifies the 2006 environmental impact statement and replaces the absolute prohibition with a technical protocol to minimize impact on fauna.

The change is not a simple relaxation: it implies concrete operational obligations that must be integrated into work planning. The Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha has endorsed the modification as environmentally viable, based on the fact that current controlled blasting techniques generate less continuous disturbance than conventional heavy machinery.

What does this regulation establish?

The modification replaces a single condition of the 2006 environmental impact statement: the one that completely prohibited blasting between February and July. That condition disappears and is replaced by a protocol to minimize disturbance to fauna with the following mandatory elements:

The technical justification for the modification is relevant: the Directorate General argues that controlled blasting with these measures generates less cumulative disturbance to fauna than the continuous operation of conventional heavy machinery. This argument has been accepted by the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha, which has issued a favorable report.

Economic and operational impact

For construction companies, the change has a positive reading and one of additional operational cost:

Opportunity: The elimination of the total five-month ban (February-July) allows planning blasting in a period of the year that was previously completely blocked. This can reduce delays in the work schedule and avoid costs associated with forced shutdowns or rescheduling of specialized equipment.

New operational cost: The protocol introduces obligations that have a real cost:

• Hiring or coordination of environmental technicians for fortnightly and weekly surveys throughout the breeding season.
• Implementation of periodic acoustic monitoring systems in the blasting environment.
• Marking and signaling of areas with active nests, with continuous updating according to survey results.
• Possible unplanned shutdowns if threatened species are detected within 250 meters: suspension is precautionary and immediate.
• Restriction of the time window for work with explosives to six hours daily (10:00-16:00 h), which may limit daily performance of this phase.

The net impact will depend on the section and work schedule. In sections with high density of protected fauna, precautionary suspensions may be frequent and generate significant cost overruns due to equipment mobilization and dismantling.

Who does it affect?

• Awarded construction companies of the A-32 highway sections between Linares (Jaén) and Albacete that include work with explosives.
• Promoters and work managers responsible for compliance with the environmental impact statement.
• Specialized blasting subcontractors that must adapt their operational procedures to the new time slot and survey protocol.
• Environmental technicians and environmental consulting companies that provide monitoring and surveillance services on the work.
• Environmental administrations (Directorate General for Quality and Environmental Assessment, Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha) responsible for monitoring compliance with the protocol.

Practical example

A construction company working on a section of the A-32 in Albacete and has blasting scheduled for April 2026 —a month that was previously completely banned— can now execute it, but must:

1. Have conducted fortnightly surveys in the preceding weeks to map possible nesting in the environment.
2. In the week of blasting, conduct a specific survey to confirm that there are no threatened species within a 250-meter radius of the detonation point.
3. If an active nest of a threatened species is detected 200 meters away, blasting is precautionarily suspended until the environmental technician confirms that the area is clear or the nest has been abandoned.
4. If the area is clear, blasting is scheduled between 10:00 and 16:00 hours, using the minimum necessary charge.
5. After blasting, acoustic monitoring data is recorded for the environmental monitoring report.

This flow implies that the construction company cannot improvise: it needs to have contracted the environmental survey service with sufficient advance notice to meet the required fortnightly/weekly frequency.

What should companies do now?

1. Review the work plan to identify all sections and dates in which blasting was planned, especially those that fell in the February-July period and had been ruled out due to the previous prohibition.
2. Hire or activate the environmental survey service with the required frequency: fortnightly in the prior period and weekly during active breeding season. This service must be operational before executing any blasting in the sensitive period.
3. Update the blasting operational procedure to include the time restriction from 10:00 to 16:00 h, the minimum charge criterion and the precautionary suspension protocol if threatened species are detected within 250 meters.
4. Implement the marking system of areas with active nests, with continuous updating according to the results of weekly surveys.
5. Establish the periodic acoustic monitoring system and define who records the data and how it is integrated into the environmental monitoring report of the work.
6. Communicate the changes to blasting subcontractors so they adapt their procedures and equipment to the new time slot and precautionary suspension protocol.
7. Document the entire process: surveys, results, precautionary suspensions and acoustic monitoring must be recorded to demonstrate compliance to the environmental administration.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Notice: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-12699