The latest Algarve transport report shows that traffic on the Via do Infante motorway increased by 16.7% in the last quarter of 2017, compared to the same period in 2016, but offers no indication of how many of these additional journeys were due to the appalling state of the eastern section of the EN125.Faro airport passenger numbers were up too, by 5.5% as the tourism boom continued into the low season.
In numbers, the Via do Infante saw 10,575 vehicles per day choosing to pay tolls rather than use the EN125.
The Algarve CCDR regional development commission said that for motorway use and airport traffic, this was "the 18th consecutive quarterly rise," which began in 2013.
At the Guadiana International Bridge, growth was only up by 3.2% to 6,128 vehicles per day.
Faro’s International Airport, in October, November and December 2017, handled 9,911 flights carrying 1.44 million people. This is a 3.1% increase in the number of flights and a 5.5% increase in passenger numbers.
Even the railway passenger numbers were up, with a 4.3% increase in passengers on the Algarve’s railway, to 438,000 passengers.
The somewhat smoother line between Faro and Lisbon was used by 10% more people, 179,000 of them.
These positive figures have been achieved despite the lack of investment in the Algarve’s road and rail system, with the exception of the completion of the eastern section of the EN125 which officially was completed last summer after many years of delays and unexplained downtime.
