New road and tunnel links planned for Portugal

Portugal is planning a series of road repair and renovation works starting in 2015. The Portuguese road agency Estradas de Portugal (EP), plans to invest €436 million between 2015 and 2019. This will be invested in renovating the basic road infrastructure for local and regional routes. The plan calls for 250 bridges and viaducts to be upgraded, with 120 improvements on local roads. The programme of work also includes 100 sites where road safety will be improved.

The construction of the Marão road tunnel in Portugal will be resumed in the first half of 2014 – ending a two-year suspension of works due to the financial constraints of the winning Somague-led build consortium.

The construction of the Marão road tunnel in Portugal will be resumed in the first half of 2014 – ending a two-year suspension of works due to the financial constraints of the winning Somague-led build consortium. The concession for the tunnel, which, at 5.6km, will be Portugal’s longest road tunnel, is now under the control of the state road agency Estradas de Portugal. Another investment of €150 million (US$ 202.91 million) is required to complete the major infrastructure works, earmarked for completio

Strong interest is being shown in the tender process for a major highway project in Portugal. The Portuguese Road Agency, Infraestruturas de Portugal - IP, has so far received 11 bids for the construction of the first section of the Via dos Duques highway. This route will connect Coimbra between the junction of the main road A13 and the A25 highway in Mangualde and also through Viseu. The bids were well below the initial reference price and 72km of highway will cost an estimated €320 million.