By: ELOISE WALTON
ROAD IMPROVEMENTS, including the construction of a new tunnel and four new roundabouts, at a cost of more than three million euros are planned to be carried out in Portimão to alleviate traffic congestion during rush hours.
The tunnel, which will be constructed along the V6 main road in front of the Continente shopping centre, had been planned years ago but its estimated cost of around 2.5 million euros has caused its construction to be postponed.
Portimão Câmara has now made the construction of this structure a counterpart agreement for an urban housing and tourism development of 36,000sqm which the company Hagen Imobiliária is investing in.
This new tunnel will only have one lane in each direction because of limitations in space but will enable traffic to flow directly between Praia da Rocha and the northern part of the city. Between Alvor and the city centre, vehicles will continue to use the existing roundabout.
A protocol between Hagen Imobiliária and Portimão Câmara, which was signed this month, allows the construction to start as soon as the licence for the allocation of the land has been issued, but not during the high season, between June 15 and September 15.
Portimão Câmara is due to create alternative access routes to reduce the congestion in the city from October, with projects for the construction of four new roundabouts having already been put to public tender.
Roundabouts
One of these roundabouts will link the V6 to Avenida São João de Deus in order to ease traffic congestion along Paul Harris Avenue and the Continente shopping centre roundabout. This has been estimated to cost Portimão Câmara around 570,000 euros.
Around 300,000 euros will be spent on another roundabout which is due to be constructed along Avenida V3 in front of the Edifício Amarilis in order to reduce the amount of traffic in Praia da Rocha using the Marina roundabout. The other two roundabouts are due to be constructed in the centre of Portimão, one to replace existing traffic lights in front of the Hotel Tropimar and another in Quinta da Malata, representing an investment of 260,000 euros.
Traffic flow along the Avenida São João de Deus will also be altered as part of the measures and a project to construct a new and direct access route from the EN125 to the Barlavento hospital, without using the existing roundabout, has been put to public tender by the Câmara.
No definite dates available as yet for the start of these road works.
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