The Ministry of Infrastructure shared an Instagram photo on Thursday, which was subsequently deleted after media inquiries, showcasing a slide from a presentation by Minister Miguel Pinto Luz to the mayors of the Porto Metropolitan Area (AMP). The meeting took place at the AMP headquarters to discuss infrastructural developments.
The slide, titled “proposed solution,” details plans to install “six gantries on access roads to the VCI,” with two located to the south at “Ponte da Arrábida and Ponte do Freixo,” and four to the north on the “[Motorway] A28, EN13 [National Road 13], A3, and A43.”
According to the presentation map, the northern gantries are to be positioned on the specified roads before the turn-offs to Estrada da Circunvalação, outside the Porto municipal boundaries.
The VCI proposal suggests implementing a “crossing fee during certain periods, coupled with a toll exemption on the CREP [Porto Outer Ring Road, also known as A41] during the same time frame.”
The proposal also states that movements “originating or destined for the city of Porto” will not be penalized.
The ministry stated that “at this moment,” it is “premature to define any proposal as definitive.”
“As mentioned after the meeting, a Working Group will be established, coordinated by the Secretary of State for Infrastructure, which will include representatives from IMT and Infraestruturas de Portugal, to assess various proposals presented by the government and municipalities aimed at improving traffic flow on the VCI,” an official from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing stated.
On Thursday, Miguel Pinto Luz informed journalists that the working group will also “begin defining mitigation measures” to “discourage through traffic in the VCI and within the city of Porto,” in both north-south and south-north directions.
The minister added that current measures “are yet to be finalized,” assigning six months for the “equal” working group to reach decisions agreed upon by both the ministry and municipalities.
At the same meeting, Miguel Pinto Luz and Porto Mayor Rui Moreira shared that the A41/CREP highway should be “tendentially free” for heavy vehicles, particularly freight, to ease VCI traffic.
“The government will make every effort to implement toll reductions on the CREP within four or five months, aiming for free access for all heavy vehicles,” Pinto Luz told the media.
When asked about the timeline for implementing tariff reductions, Miguel Pinto Luz indicated the goal is to begin in “January of the next year.”
Rui Moreira clarified that “tendentially free” refers to both differentiating between freight and passenger heavy vehicles and considering passage at specific times of the day.
Moreira suggested that it might not be necessary to apply an exemption for a vehicle passing the VCI between 3:00 AM and 4:00 AM, emphasizing that offering free access during such times might not make sense for inner Porto’s roadways.
Miguel Pinto Luz estimates that this change “could reduce heavy vehicle traffic on the VCI by 16% to 20%” and mentioned “traffic deterrence on the VCI during certain periods of the day,” which is to be implemented in the coming months.
To the newspaper Público, AMP President Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues indicated the possibility of installing tolls on the VCI for trucks or banning their circulation during peak hours, which would entail four hours in the morning and another four in the afternoon.
