Traffic lights on the Vilamoura junction with the EN125 appear to be broken without repair.
After the Algarve Resident reported in May that the equipment had been turned off for several weeks, causing concern among drivers who feared for their safety, the traffic lights were fixed and normality was temporarily restored. However, again this week complaints from readers revealed that the traffic lights have been switched off for the past week and those attempting to drive in this busy stretch of the EN125 were “taking their lives in their own hands”, said one reader.
Loulé Councillor Aníbal Moreno told the Algarve Resident: “The EN125 is under the jurisdiction of Estradas de Portugal (national roads authority), which is responsible for ensuring the maintenance of infrastructures such as traffic lights.
“As is of public knowledge, the project to build a roundabout in this junction that connects the Vilamoura XXI Avenue with the EN125, in Benfarras has been suspended, but once it starts the traffic lights will obviously be removed.”
However, Moreno said that Loulé Câmara has continuously tried to find a solution for the traffic lights, which were installed many years ago and frequently break.
He said: “As EP has not taken action to resolve this matter, Loulé Câmara has been forced to maintain the equipment, but when it needs to be totally replaced, repair work takes longer as this has to be done by the roads authority.
“We are, however, sorry for the inconvenience this has caused to road users,” concluded the councillor.
