A month after a main water pipe supplying the Barlavento region burst under the newly inaugurated Portimão to A22/Via do Infante access route, there was still no date set for the completion of repair works. After spending Christmas without water, homes in the area around the burst were reconnected on December 29 last year. However, water company Águas do Algarve has conceded that it is still “struggling” to repair the damage. In the meantime, a large hole, 10 metres high and 8 metres wide, occupies two lanes on the Portimão to Via do Infante route. The President of Portimão Câmara, Manuel da Luz, has conceded that the situation had prompted many complaints from road users who had already been seriously inconvenienced during the construction of the new route.
Manuel da Luz said he could not understand why the situation was taking so long to be resolved “when the two lane A22/Portimão carriageway could be divided into two directions”, as happens on motorways when road works are carried out on a particular stretch of road. Now Portimão Câmara has requested an urgent meeting with all the parties involved, including representatives from the Institute of Portuguese Roads (IEP), the A22 road concession holders (VIAL-SCUT) and Águas do Algarve (AA), in a bid to reach at least a provisional solution to the problem. However, Águas do Algarve’s latest estimate for completion of the repair works is “at least a couple of months”.
