Introduction:

la Manga del Mar Menor is a coastal range of 21 kilometres long, with a great urban density and only one access from the south.

Objective:

to analyze the three northern access proposals made in the last decades: a road that would cross the protected area of the Salinas y Arenales de San Pedro del Pinatar, a tunnel under the Mar Menor, and a footbridge that would connect La Manga with the Salinas by crossing the Encañizadas marshes.

Materials and methods:

news appeared in the regional press have been compiled, scientific articles and specialized publications have been consulted and cartography has been carried out with the QGIS.

Results:

the impacts on the landscape, natural heritage and tourism are analysed. The road and footbridge could produce environmental effects on the marshes; the road could also produce negative effects on tourism in the Salinas. If access is by means of a tunnel, damage could be caused to the Mar Menor during its construction, and also a high economic cost, which does not seem to be borne by either the administration or private enterprise.

Conclusions:

the environmental and economic impacts of the territory that it would have to cross, could be higher than the economic benefits foreseen in the Manga del Mar Menor.