The Aljezur Municipal Council is demanding accountability for the dangerous state of the National Road 120 (EN 120) in Odeceixe, with huge cracks causing it to be closed.
"The decision to close the road was inevitable to avoid a total collapse of the road and prevent a tragedy of greater proportions", the council said in a statement.
The deterioration of the EN120 was the result of the heavy rains that hit the country in March, "combined with the instability of the slopes aggravated by the 2023 fire", which just "exposes the lack of interest and disinvestment on the part of successive Governments and the Infrastructures of Portugal in the repair of this essential road". The council say that the National Road Plan provided for the construction of the IC4, connecting Lagos to Sines, but that several studies were carried out over the years "without any concrete solution being implemented".
In view of this current situation, which the Aljezur Municipal Council considers "unacceptable", the meeting yesterday resulted in unanimous demands for an urgent and definitive solution to re-establish traffic in the affected area of the EN120; the design and implementation of a new route that guarantees safety and traffic fluidity between the Algarve and the Alentejo, with special attention to the Odeceixe bends and the Aljezur Bypass; and the inclusion, in the next State Budget, of a specific heading for the repair of municipal and secondary roads, "which are suffering from overload due to the diversions implemented, especially in the parish of Odeceixe".
The local authority is committed to monitoring the situation closely and keeping the population informed about developments. The statemet reads, that it will not allow "further delays or negligence in this matter, regardless of the political consequences this may have."
Source https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/ - photo by Aljezur Municipal Council
