The mayor of Porto said on Monday that it makes “more sense for the public interest” that the new road and rail bridge over the Douro River culminate in a “dual-use bridge”, pending, however, the announcement of the president of the Government.
“Let’s see what comes to us this Wednesday, here will come the Prime Minister and the Minister of Infrastructure [ao Porto] (…). Let’s see, if in fact there is the possibility of building a dual-use bridge, it probably makes more sense for the public interest”, said Rui Moreira, on the sidelines of the executive meeting.
Jornal de Notícias advances this Monday that instead of two new bridges over the Douro River, the solution being negotiated between the Câmara do Porto, Câmara de Gaia and Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) involves “a single bridge with two decks: one for the high-speed train and the other by road”.
This file must be closed in the next few days and depends on the analysis of the engineers working on the design of the new crossing”, observes the newspaper, indicating that, on Wednesday, the President of the Government, António Costa, and the Minister of Infrastructure, Pedro Nuno Santos will present the new high-speed line between Porto and Lisbon at the Campanhã station.
Rui Moreira told journalists that PI’s proposal “has not yet reached” the Porto Chamber, but that, in a meeting with Minister Pedro Nuno Santos, the Secretary of State and the Gaia Chamber were warned that it was being considered. a different route” to the solution initially proposed for the high-speed bridge.
“From then on, we began to think that what we were actually doing with the bridge [D. António Francisco dos Santos] -and in fact it is quite advanced- it must be analyzed in terms of what a decision on the railway bridge can be, because it does not make sense for the bridges to cross”, he said.
Asked about the possible investment that will have to be made if the construction of a “dual-use bridge” is carried out, the independent mayor assured that “Porto and Gaia will surely not build the railway bridge.”
Regarding the tender for the design and construction of the D. António Francisco dos Santos highway bridge, Rui Moreira said that if it is cancelled, the bidders will have to be compensated.
Also speaking to journalists, the Oporto Chamber Councilor for Urbanism, Pedro Baganha, said that the IP has been studying “alternatives” to cross the high-speed line, since the possibility of building a “twin” bridge to the S. The João bridge was “abandoned by IP for various technical reasons”.
IP is working on an alternative for a new bridge upstream of the S. João bridge, but further away and not parallel to that same bridge,” he observed, saying that IP contacted the two municipalities due to the “spatial overlap” between the two. bridges over the Douro river.
“After this contact with IP, we are currently considering the degrees of freedom and implications of the need for this new railway bridge and I do not deny that one of the hypotheses on the table is to replace two bridges, one road in the toll and one railway in high quota, for a single bridge with two decks, the deck destined for high speed and the lower one for the proposed proximity road service”, he added, pointing out that the “dual-use bridge” will always imply “efficiency gains”.
Pedro Baganha stressed, however, that “nothing is closed yet” and that “this concerted effort” will imply better uses of public money, but also an impact on the Douro River valley.
As for the design and construction contest for the D. António Francisco dos Santos bridge, the deadline for presenting projects was extended until mid-October, after three of the seven candidates requested it from the jury.
Seven candidates were admitted to the tender: the company Puentes y Calzadas Infraestructuras SLU, the consortium of Alexandre Barbosa Borges, SA and Construgomes Engenharia, SA, the consortium Mota-Engil, Engenharia e Construção, SA and Omatapalo – Engenharia e Construção, SA, the Afavias – Engenharia e Construções, SA, Casais – Engenharia e Construções, SA and Teixeira Duarte – Engenharia e Construções, SA consortium, the Ramalho Rosa Cobertar consortium, Sociedade de Construções, SA and FCC Construcción, SA, the Alberto Couto Alves consortium, SA, Alves Ribeiro, SA and Betar Consultores, Lda., and the company Conduril – Engenharia, SA.
Source: Observadora
