Valença and Tui plan artistic lighting for 140-year-old River Minho bridge

Valença and Tui are preparing a joint artistic lighting project for the century-old metal crossing over the River Minho, which has linked the two communities for 140 years.

The plans were presented during TSF’s Day in the Municipality programme, broadcast from the iconic bridge. The structure was closed to traffic for 12 hours this Saturday so it could host a music and food-and-wine event as part of the international IKFEM festival.

Artistic lighting for the Valença–Tui bridge

Valença’s mayor, José Manuel Carpinteira, and Tui’s mayor, Enrique Cabaleiro González, say they want to enhance the road-and-rail bridge and give it greater “dignity”. In their view, the crossing functions like a shared “street” between the two towns and should be progressively freed from car traffic.

Cabaleiro said this ambition is long-standing. He also disclosed that the two municipalities have begun work on developing a project to design new artistic lighting for the bridge, which he described as one of the area’s major historic monuments, a site of cultural interest and “a symbol of our identity”.

Sustainable mobility and reducing car traffic over the River Minho

Carpinteira argued that the long-term aim is to shift the bridge away from motor vehicles and towards more sustainable ways of moving between the two sides. “We want this bridge to stop having cars going across. We want it to have people crossing with more sustainable mobility. That is our goal,” he said, while acknowledging that the idea “is not easy to achieve”.

Cabaleiro agreed, calling it “an old aspiration”. He maintained that there is an alternative bridge that fully meets mobility needs, and that this space should, as far as possible, evolve into a fully pedestrian route. He added that “this is not a power held by the municipalities, but by the governments of both Spain and Portugal”.

“A unique case in the Iberian Peninsula”

For the leaders of these neighbouring councils-who formed a Eurocity in 2012-mobility is seen as “one of the big challenges”.

Carpinteira said that the historic “economic and social” ties between Tui and Valença have gained fresh momentum through the partnership. He noted that the Eurocity has allowed them to “strengthen and broaden cooperation” into areas such as sport, culture and mobility. He highlighted the shared use of public facilities, including swimming pools, a library and a theatre. He added: “We coordinate between ourselves the investments we make in the Eurocity, and that is how, in future, a more unified city will be built here. I say this is a unique case in the Iberian Peninsula, this fraternity and this peace that exists between the two peoples in this area by the River Minho.”

Cabaleiro also said other shared initiatives are being discussed, covering environmental restoration, boosting tourism and rehabilitating historic heritage on both banks of the river.