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Avenida Rei Jaume I Santa Ponsa: The Final Winter of Works Begins
Avenida Rei Jaume I, Santa Ponsa's main avenue, is a building site again, for what should be the last time. Calvià council has confirmed this is the last of three phases, with crews back on site from Thursday 1 October. Since Wednesday 7 October the carriageway heading west towards the beach has been closed between the Eroski roundabout and the Pinada roundabout. The opposite direction remains open. We took the photographs in this article that morning.
What Is Happening This Winter
The existing trees on this side of the avenue are not staying. 70 are being taken out along with the old street lamps, and 124 new trees will be planted by the time the phase is finished. That is a net gain of more than fifty trees on a street where shade matters for half the year.
The work completes the surface renovation. The original plan set the second phase to beautify one direction of the avenue in the 2025 low season, with the third phase in 2026 doing the opposite direction. The council is aiming to finish by Easter 2027, and Holy Week next year runs from 21 to 28 March.
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What the Avenue Looks Like This Week
We walked the avenue on the morning of Wednesday 7 October. The lane towards the beach is closed from the Eroski roundabout to the Pinada roundabout, with cones and yellow barriers at each end. Every business along the stretch is open and can be reached on foot.
The side being rebuilt this winter is the one lined with shops and apartments, and the old pavement there has already gone. Outside the pharmacy and the neighbouring shopfronts the paving has been lifted and the rubble is piled along the kerb waiting to be carted away. Further along, in front of the hotel, the ground is back to bare earth, with a fenced walkway kept clear along the building line so people can still get to the doors.
In the old parking strip a crew is breaking out the kerb line and laying new ducting in a sand-bedded trench, with a mini excavator working alongside them. A site dumper is running up and down the closed lane.
The tree removals started today as well. We watched a crane lorry take out one of the tall pale-barked trees in front of a café terrace, and others along the same side are still standing for now.
The contrast with the other side is the best preview of what is coming. The stretch finished last winter already has its new planting beds and staked young trees, and the long steel-edged central planter runs the length of the avenue. By Easter the shop side should match it.
Three Winters, One Avenue
The project was always designed to be done in stages. The council scheduled 15 months of work spread over three winters, keeping it clear of the high season.
Winter one (2024–25) was the invisible part. Work began on 4 November 2024 and ran to 31 March on the 540 metres between the Eroski roundabout and the taxi rank at Plaza de la Pinada. The focus was underground, particularly renewing the sewage and water pipes.
Winter two (2025–26) was the first visible improvement. That phase concentrated on beautifying the left-hand side of the avenue, and it was scheduled to finish by 31 March 2026.
Winter three (2026–27) is the one now under way, finishing the opposite side.
What It Is Costing
The three phases have a reported combined budget of €5.3 million, of which €3.3 million comes from Calvià council and the rest from the Balearic government. Santa Ponsa is one part of a wider programme. Calvià has described €25 million of infrastructure investment in a single year, across 16 projects, as the largest concentrated spend in its recent history.
Living With the Works
Nobody on the avenue will pretend the last two winters were easy. In December 2024, businesses on the avenue said access had become very difficult and was causing major revenue losses, and were considering legal action. Complaints about the roadworks have come up repeatedly since.
The council's position is that winter working is the least bad option. Deputy mayor Joan Thomás has said the projects involved consultation with residents and businesses and were timed for winter to reduce disruption.
A few practical points for the months ahead:
- If you are driving towards the beach, follow the signs on the day and allow extra time, particularly at school-run and lunchtime hours.
- The shops, restaurants and offices on the avenue still need their customers. Park a street back and walk in.
- If you own a property you let over winter, tell your guests in advance so the fencing is not a surprise.
- Closures move as each stretch is completed, so check before you set out.
What It Means for Property Owners and Buyers
We have sold property in Santa Ponsa since 1985, and the avenue has been the town's front door for all of that time. A new sewage and water network, new lighting, wider and more even pavements and more trees are not glamorous selling points, but they are the things buyers notice when they walk from an apartment to the beach.
For owners close to the avenue, this winter is the last stretch of inconvenience before the benefit arrives. For buyers, viewing between now and Easter means seeing the town at its least polished, with completion a few months away.
If you are thinking about selling, there is no need to wait for the fencing to come down. Anyone viewing this winter sees the finished side of the avenue as well as the unfinished one, and we walk buyers along both so they can judge the result for themselves. If you would like to know what your home is worth today, you can request a valuation here.
Combined with the new Lidl on Avenida Miguel Unamuno, the centre of Santa Ponsa will look and work very differently in summer 2027 from how it did three years earlier.
View properties for sale in Santa Ponsa and Nova Santa Ponsa
