1957 when the river Turia overflowed its banks again, killing many Valencians (officially, eighty-one died; the actual figure is not known). To prevent further disasters, the river was eventually diverted to a new course. The old river bed was abandoned for years, and successive Francoist mayors proposed making it a motorway, but that option was finally rejected with the advent of democracy and fervent neighborhood protests. The river was divided in two at the western city limits (Plan Sur de Valencia), and diverted southwards along a new course that skirts the city, before meeting the Mediterranean. The old course of the river continues; dry, through the city centre, almost to the sea. The old riverbed is now a verdant sunken park called the 'Garden of the Turia'(Jardí del Túria or Jardín del Turia) that allows cyclists and pedestrians to traverse much of the city without the use of roads; overhead bridges carry motor traffic across the park.
The economy began to recover in the early 1960s, and the city experienced explosive population growth through immigration spurred by the jobs created with the implementation of major urban projects and infrastructure improvements. With the advent of democracy in Spain, the ancient kingdom of Valencia was established as a new autonomous entity, theValencian Community, the Statute of Autonomy of 1982 designating Valencia as its capital. On the night of 23 February 1981, shortly after Antonio Tejero had stormed Congress, the Captain General of the Third Military Region,Jaime Milans del Bosch, rose up in Valencia, put tanks on the streets, declared a state of emergency and tried to convince other senior military figures to support the coup. After the televised message of King Juan Carlos I, those in the military who had not yet aligned themselves decided to remain loyal to the government, and the coup failed. Despite this lack of support, Milans del Bosch only surrendered at 5 a.m. on the next day, 24 February
