Following the work on Avenida de la Ilustración, the Madrid City Council began construction early this morning on the new vertical gardens along the M-30 near the Ventas Bridge. The project, awarded to Madrid Calle 30, represents an investment of 5.3 million euros and will continue through early 2027.
The work will be concentrated between kilometer markers 5+900 and 6+300 of the ring road—a section with six lanes in each direction considered the busiest stretch in the capital—and will be carried out primarily at night to reduce the impact on traffic.
The project will cover the sides of the access ramps that bridge the elevation difference between the M-30 and Calle de Alcalá, the bridge abutments, and the spaces located beneath the deck’s overhangs with vegetation. The total vegetated area will reach 2,834 m², distributed over 400 linear meters.
Unlike the vertical gardens already in place on Avenida de la Ilustración, in this case the vegetation will be attached directly to the precast concrete modules already installed, which are accessible from the infrastructure’s interior galleries; therefore, it will not be necessary to install hinged panels.
The project is taking place near Parque Ventas, the urban transformation project that aims to create a new 16,370 m² space above the M-30 to connect Salamanca and Ciudad Lineal via pedestrian pathways and landscaping.
Irrigation with reclaimed water and sensor-based monitoring
The irrigation system will use reclaimed water from the Canal de Isabel II, controlled remotely. The installation will include a collector for excess irrigation water and a weather station that will adjust operations based on weather conditions. A main 65,000-liter reservoir will ensure irrigation for three days in the event of a supply failure.
The modules, designed for semi-hydroponic cultivation and mounted on a metal frame, will each have a capacity for 36 plants. A monitoring system will measure parameters such as substrate moisture, temperature, and evaporation in real time, with centralized management.
The planting will include more than 30 Mediterranean species selected for their drought resistance and flowering cycles, adapted to the section’s various orientations and sunlight conditions. Beyond their aesthetic value, these species will act as a filter for pollutants, capable of trapping airborne particles and absorbing compounds such as hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides.
The Ventas gardens will be the second of their kind on the M-30. The first, inaugurated in 2023 on Avenida de la Ilustración, cover an area of 3,250 m². An additional 750 m² will soon be added at the Vallecas Bridge as part of the Vallecas Abierto project, which also includes the rehabilitation of that infrastructure and the transformation of its surroundings.
With these three gardens, the network of green infrastructure along the M-30 will exceed 6,500 m² of green space in total.