The Portalet border crossing, in Sallent de Gállego, will be closed to traffic from 18:00 this Saturday due to the risk of avalanches in France. This has been warned by the Government of Aragon, which jointly manages this road with the French department of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques.
This week some avalanches have fallen on the north slope and in the last hours there have been significant rainfall in the form of water, with anticipation that the rains continue, which can favor the discharge of snow from the slopes, advising to take that measure. The closing time has been adjusted to the curfew in the neighboring country.
The Aemet has also activated a orange warning for snowfall in the Pyrenees. The forecast is that 20 centimeters will accumulate between Saturday and Sunday, with a higher probability in the western zone, with a height of 1,100-1,200 meters, rising on Sunday morning.
The snow has already started to make an appearance around noon. The General Directorate of Traffic warns of traffic conditioned by adverse weather in the last 3 kilometers between Formigal and the border (A-136). Also between kilometers 8 and 10 of the A-2606, at the access to the Panticosa spa. In addition, from the 25th it is mandatory to carry chains on the A-135 road, between the Navarros bridge and the Pradera de Ordesa, on the main communication route of the National Park.
The circulation with France through the Pyrenees, in addition to being conditioned by meteorological factors, has also suffered some limitations due to the restrictions established by that country for a terrorist threat. This is the cause adduced to keep the Bielsa-Aragnouet international tunnel closed overnight, although it did not affect the Portalet, where 450,000 vehicles crossed in 2019. At the beginning of January, the French government closed five minor steps with Catalonia for that reason.
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