Portugal’s government will waive tolls for one week on several motorway sections in areas affected by Storm Kristin, including stretches of the A8, A17, A14 and A19, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced on Tuesday.
The exemption will come into force at midnight and will apply for one week, the prime minister said during a visit to an affected company in the municipality of Pombal.
On Monday, the Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, said the government was assessing the possibility of waiving tolls in areas affected by the storm and promised a decision within hours.
Several local authorities had already called for immediate toll exemptions. The mayor of Marinha Grande, Paulo Vicente, had demanded the suspension of tolls on the A8 motorway section serving the municipality, between Marinha Grande and Leiria. Montemor-o-Velho municipality also requested the temporary suspension of toll payments on the A14 while road restrictions remain in place.
Brisa, the motorway concessionaire, said on Monday it was “fully available” to apply a toll exemption in affected areas if decided by the government, stressing that such a measure would be a political decision.
“Any decision, within the framework of the state of calamity, to waive tolls is a political decision that goes beyond Brisa,” the company said in a statement, adding that it would implement the exemption if instructed to do so.
Brisa recalled that emergency vehicles are exempt from toll payments “in any circumstances and throughout the entire territory”.
The concessionaire said its initial priority during the storm was to ensure safe traffic conditions on motorways, which it described as critical infrastructure for emergency response and the transport of goods. It mobilised more than 200 staff from across the country to the central region and restored traffic on all affected roads within a short period of time.
Despite what it described as “significant damage” to its infrastructure, Brisa said it was able to ensure safe circulation for users and emergency services.
The group also approved the immediate allocation of an extraordinary solidarity donation of €80,000 to the Emergency Fund of Caritas of the Diocese of Leiria and to the National Emergency Fund of the Portuguese Red Cross.
