The High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community has rejected an appeal by Caixabank and confirmed that the bank must release a guarantee worth almost €1.3 million. The money will be used to build a long-delayed pedestrian bridge over the AP-7 in Orihuela Costa, linking Lomas de Cabo Roig with Calle Creus on the San Miguel road.

The court upheld a decision by Orihuela Town Council to seize the guarantee after the developer, Urbana San Miguel SL, failed to carry out the works it committed to more than twenty years ago. Caixabank acted as guarantor for the developer and challenged the council’s move, but judges agreed that the bond covered the obligation to build the bridge in full. A previous ruling in Elche had already reached the same conclusion.

The judges said the developer’s non-compliance was clearly proven and that the council followed the correct legal procedure, allowing the municipality to carry out the project itself. The ruling can still be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Local residents in Orihuela Costa have been calling for the bridge for over a decade, citing serious safety and mobility problems. The current bridge has no pedestrian or cycle access and is a major traffic bottleneck in a densely populated coastal area. The council has now commissioned the project, clearing the way for the long-awaited work to begin.