The works have now started after last Thursday the construction site was assembled, on the former grounds of the Hunters Club, by the company that will carry it out, the DST construction company.
The work of redevelopment of Avenida da Liberdade begins from the traffic circle of St. John. “It will start in the area of the sidewalks, so the cuts of road – one uphill and one downhill – will be made as needed,”
He added that one lane will be kept in operation, so the traffic will continue to flow, although with greater difficulty. To inform the citizens of Braga and minimize the impact of the work, the Municipality prepared a Communication Plan, which is directed to them, and that also goes out to the streets in these days.
Olga Pereira also told Ppulse that the requalification of the Avenida Road Tunnel should begin in June or July: “The request for approval has also already entered the Court of Auditors and the decision, if there are no legal obstacles, is expected to be issued within one to two months.
The deadline for completion, in both cases, is 250 days.
8.3 million investment
In the case of the tunnel, its cost will be 5.2 million Euros, about 600 thousand more than what was foreseen in the public tender, a fact that is due to the inflation that affects civil construction products.
The Avenida – to be built as part of the ‘I’m already passing through here’ program – will cost 3.1 million euros.
The document that was voted on a few days ago in the Chamber stresses that “it was the municipality’s clear and objective strategic intention that the physical execution of both contracts take place simultaneously, since this is the only way to guarantee an effective and accentuated reduction in the volume of traffic that will circulate on Avenida da Liberdade during the execution of the contract. This reduction is guaranteed by banning the circulation of the flow coming from National Road 14 planned inside the tunnel during the execution of the contract.
On the other hand, he adds, if the execution deadlines of both projects coincide approximately, they will finish on approximately the same date, probably between March and April 2024, thus avoiding the prolongation of the constraints. In other words, if there are any, and they will be big ones, “let them happen at once”.
Traffic Plan
For this purpose, the Municipality has already prepared a comprehensive traffic study to mitigate the constraints that the simultaneity of the works will generate throughout the city, including: definition and implementation of traffic detours and possible changes in traffic direction, as well as changing the traditional circuits of Braga Urban Transports (TUB) as well as the location of stopping points and passenger pick-up. The creation and promotion of a wide informative campaign, which – as far as we know – will start in the first week of May.
Tunnel and Avenue are interdependent
The road tunnel to be intervened is included and implanted on a fundamental road axis for the Council, guaranteeing, through National Road 14, the northern access to the city center through Avenida da Liberdade and from this avenue to National Roads 101, 103 and 309. The Avenida is a direct complementary road and strongly interdependent with the road tunnel.
The intervention on Avenida da Liberdade – which should begin in the area of the São João da Ponte traffic circle, the largest in terms of the number of people run over – goes from the intersection with Rua do Raio to the S. João da Ponte traffic circle, totaling 850 meters. It foresees the re-profiling of the road with the insertion of segregated, unidirectional cycling lanes on both sides of the roadway, new pedestrian crossings, elimination of barriers to inclusive circulation, increased forestation, and an increase in the permeable area.
This intervention – says the city council proposal – “will benefit the urban image and contribute to a very relevant evolution in the mobility patterns of the city and the significant reduction of gas emissions, either through the reduction in the number of vehicles and reduction of speeds, either by increasing the permeable area with the insertion of new plant components, including new trees.
New crossings
New crossings will also be implemented, namely on the south side of the intersection with Rua 25 de Abril, on the north and south sides of the intersection with Avenida João XXI; near the intersection with Rua Araújo Carandá and near the traffic circle of S. João da Ponte, on Avenida Viriato Nunes (N101).
The existing crossing near the Parque da Ponte will be doubled, with one slightly further north, over the Este river, and another slightly further south, near the traffic circle. All pedestrian crossings will incorporate podotactile floors.
The public transportation stops are redesigned so that the boarding platform is elevated 30 centimeters above the roadway, facilitating access to buses.
The project also foresees the redesign or repositioning of street furniture, street lighting, signage and other infrastructure, making them compatible with the new design of the road, and the execution of flowerbeds near the limits of the roadway, with new plants that will not require an irrigation system.
There will also be the elimination and replacement of the two underpasses that are next to João XXI Avenue/Imaculada Conceição Avenue with fully accessible surface crossings.
The spaces allocated to public parking will be revised, giving priority to loading and unloading activities, keeping, however, some spaces for common use, as well as spaces for disabled people.
