Even with the announcement from the Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins, that Silves will benefit from €150,000 in emergency road works, the problem of the EN124’s road surface will not be solved.The council says the road needs complete resurfacing from Silves to Port de Lagos and that the money allocated to the road as part of the €1 million emergency funding for the Algarve's worst roads, notably the EN125 eastern section, will be enough only to fix the very worst sections.
"Protest from locals, the pressure and persistence of the Silves council and the support from MPs to get the EN124 resurfaced" has borne some fruit, says the town hall, but it simply is not enough - the road is dangerous to drive along, such is the crumbling state of much of its surface.
The council’s official statement does refer to the "deplorable and calamitous" state of the road which has been deteriorating for many years, "threatening the lives of those who travel along it, besides representing a image of Silves and the Algarve region."
The council’s official statement does refer to the "deplorable and calamitous" state of the road which has been deteriorating for many years, "threatening the lives of those who travel along it, besides representing a image of Silves and the Algarve region."
This has forced the Government to launch an "urgent public tender" to repair and improve traffic and safety conditions through these emergency works, says the council.
Despite the polite acceptance by the council of the €150,000, it is clear that the road company's contractors will be able to do little more than attend to the very worst parts of the road.
This also remains the situation in the eastern Algarve, along the EN125, where a €300,000 allocation will do little more than fix the worst sections. These will be expected to last until the road upgrade starts in 2019, at earliest.
