There are 1,7 kilometers of road left and «about two years» for the north ring road in Loulé to be completed, more than three decades after the project took its first steps. The assignment of the last section of this road, between the roundabout next to the Municipal Pavilion and the Barreiras Brancas ("Cylinder"), on the EN270, took place yesterday, Friday, November 18, which became "a day history" for Loulé.
How to Live Aligned with o Sul Informação already advanced at the end of October, the launch of this work, which will begin on the ground shortly, had been waiting for days and was only awaiting approval from the Court of Auditors.
The green light arrived in the meantime, which allowed the Chamber to take a «step long desired by the population», as illustrated by Vítor Aleixo, president of the Loulé municipality.
The work, budgeted at 3.867.000 euros, i.e. «close to 4 million, even more, including VAT», foresees the construction of a road with a carriageway in each direction, a solution that, admits Vítor Aleixo, does not was well received by all, as it deviates from the profile of the other sections that connect the Industrial Zone to the Municipal Pavilion, which have two lanes in each direction.
This time, the municipality opted not to have four lanes, opting instead to create «a good bike path, a generous walkway and a tree-lined avenue, so that people can enjoy it».
«We have to be more sober in the choices we make. Development must, more and more, be sustainable», he defended.
The characteristics of the road, assures Joaquim Farrajota, director of the works department at the Câmara de Loulé, make it «an ecological route that is within the spirit of the city».
And the municipality technician explains why.
«The entire layout was adjusted to the terrain's orography, so that earth movement was as little as possible and had no impact on the territory», he explained.
On the other hand, and even taking into account that, «contrary to what is said», there was «an increase in the platform, which went from 10 to 18,55 meters», the road component was attenuated, in relation to the original idea .
«It will only have two lanes, one in each direction, with green areas on the sides, a 2,6-metre-wide cycle path and an associated sidewalk. In the middle, there will be two roundabouts, one serving the village of Barreiras Brancas and the other Pedragosa», he summarized.
The inhabitants of the area were not forgotten, with the Council opting for "bituminous with ground rubber, to attenuate the noise of the tires and not having the need to place acoustic panels".
At the commissioning ceremony for the work, Vítor Aleixo did not hide his satisfaction at finally handing over the contract, classifying the day as being «historic», not only for him, but for the population – «I believe that all the people from Loulé who like the city are celebrating today».
«The first written documents about the realization of this work date from 1990. At the time, it was President Joaquim Vairinhos who signed the first protocols and negotiated with owners. We are talking about more than 30 years », he illustrated.
From then on, the work became «a design of the mayors», but its completion, namely the execution of this last section, ran into several obstacles over the years.
As Abílio Sousa, councilor of the Loulé Chamber responsible for Public Works, illustrated to our newspaper, the municipality had «some difficulties, because this involves 50 plots of land».
In 2017, and after the Chamber took over the costs of a work that should have been done with national money, the process “got unstuck” and has now reached “its final outcome”.
Vítor Aleixo took the opportunity to point out that Loulé will never have «a perfect circular», but rather a horseshoe, since the planned project for the area to the south of the city, between the Palácio da Fonte da Pipa and the fire station, « will not go ahead, because it would be highly expensive and would be highly intrusive», jeopardizing the existing natural values there.
«The A22 serves as the South Ring Road, it performs this function perfectly», concluded the mayor of Loulé.
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