Famalicão wants a new link between EN14 and the Variante Nascente to ease queues

Peak-time traffic can be a headache on the southbound entry and exit of the Variante Nascente de Famalicão. At the busiest times, tailbacks are the norm, and the council wants a new road link to take pressure off the junction.

Queues on the south access to the Variante Nascente de Famalicão

"Every day I know I’m going to hit a queue when I’m on my way to work," complains a driver who has to travel daily to Ribeirão, where she works. "When I come back, around 18:00 or 19:00, I already know it’ll look the same," she says. "It’s time and patience we waste sitting in traffic," the motorist adds, arguing that any solution to this congestion in Famalicão would be welcome.

A direct connection from EN14 to the Variante Nascente

To ease traffic and improve access at the southbound entry and exit of the Variante Nascente, the Mayor of Famalicão, Mário Passos, argues for building a new connecting route-either above ground or below ground (that is, a viaduct or a tunnel)-linking the national road EN14 to the bypass.

To move the idea forward, the Social Democratic mayor has already met the Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, who pledged to ask Infraestruturas de Portugal to carry out a feasibility study for the proposed connection.

Burying it is cheaper

"We’ve flagged up this shortfall because of the queues we see every day" at the accesses to the Variante Nascente. "It’s a concern for us," Mário Passos tells JN, insisting there should be a "direct channel" between the bypass and EN14. The new route should have "two carriageway lanes", the mayor adds.

Mário Passos believes that opening a direct underground link could be the "most economical" option for tackling the congestion. Even so, he says studies are needed to decide which solution is best. After raising this "need" with Minister Miguel Pinto Luz, Passos notes that Famalicão Municipal Council will proceed with developing the preliminary study, after which Infraestruturas de Portugal would be responsible for delivering the project.

The Variante Nascente de Famalicão opened in 2004 and was designed to divert heavy vehicles and reduce through-traffic crossing the city centre. Since then, as part of works on the EN14 corridor, the road was dualled from the roundabout on the southern side of the Variante Nascente to Alto da Vitória, in Calendário. However, the current level of congestion in the area is forcing the search for a new solution.