Porto to build new outer ring road linking VCI and CREP/A41

Porto to gain new outer ring road linking VCI and CREP/A41

Porto is set to get a new outer ring road that will act as an “intermediate link” between the Inner Ring Road (Via de Cintura Interna, VCI) and the Porto Outer Regional Ring Road (Circular Regional Exterior do Porto, CREP/A41).

The plan was announced by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, who said the new route will be “an alternative to the VCI, enabling traffic to move between the South and the North when crossing the city of Porto”.

He argued that, when considered alongside work to address the Francos junction on the VCI, the combined interventions could amount to “the biggest transformation in traffic and outflow capacity for Porto, for the Metropolitan Area, and for the city in particular”. The remarks came after a meeting lasting around two hours with the mayors of Porto and Lisbon, Pedro Duarte and Carlos Moedas.

Francos junction: easing congestion and the Arrábida–Avenida AEP tunnel idea

Porto City Council leader Pedro Duarte said he believes the new outer route will “take a lot of traffic” off the VCI. He added that he has an additional solution for the traffic that would still remain, specifically “a tunnel which, after the Arrábida Bridge, will emerge on Avenida AEP”.

In his view, this would help untangle what he described as a major bottleneck: “Basically, we will solve that problem, that Gordian knot, which is the Francos junction, which is considered by many to be the country’s most complex case in terms of traffic congestion at the moment.”

Mobility measures in Porto and Lisbon, including public transport and regulation

Also on Porto mobility, Luís Montenegro said work is under way on a “network complementary to the metro network, of sustainable urban transport”. He said it should be able to “incorporate economically viable solutions and, naturally, socially compatible with everyone’s desire to benefit across the territory from quality public transport that is environmentally friendly and can enable greater mobility”, without providing further detail.

Pedro Duarte added that the city has openness and availability from the Government to “provide public transport in areas where it does not exist today”, pointing to “the more western area, what used to be known as the Campo Alegre line, and also a link between the city centre and the Asprela university campus”.

Turning to his meeting with Lisbon’s mayor, Carlos Moedas (PSD), the Prime Minister said they also discussed the new airport project and the third crossing of the River Tagus (Tejo), between Algés (Lisbon district) and Trafaria (Setúbal district), which Montenegro considers “structural for mobility in the city of Lisbon and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area”.

According to the Prime Minister, Carlos Moedas argued for tighter regulation of the TVDE ride-hailing sector and “special care” around tourist transport, including “regulation of tuk-tuks”.

The Lisbon mayor also said that in both cities it is necessary to “find greater safety for universal-use transport, such as e-scooters”, he added.

Montenegro stressed that concern has been growing about aligning the benefits of these modes with their place in everyday city movement and road and pedestrian flows, “with a particular focus on strengthening safety rules, both for e-scooter users and for people using the public highway, and even for road traffic flow”.

On that basis, he said the Government is “open to adopting certain rules that could deepen regulation of this sector”.