The Guadiana International Bridge linking Spain and the Algarve is at last to undergo repair and maintenance work later this year but the discovery that one of the steel cables holding up the bridge is broken has caused alarm.
Infraestrutura de Portugal says there is nothing to worry about but the local mayors are not best pleased that safety may be compromised, especially with the high traffic weight in the busy summer tourism season.
The infrastructure company says, rather concerningly, that “safety is not an issue” as the broken cable is but one of 37 such cables that hold the bridge in place.
The State company explained that it is "evaluating proposals" submitted under the international tender launched in 2015 for the repair and maintenance work, the third such intervention in 25 years. The company has not yet chosen a contractor to undertake the specialist work whcih should start in the third quarter of the year.
Infraestrutura de Portugal seems more concerned with price than safety with the original €13 million guesstimate dropping to €10 million which will be shared between Portugal and Spain.
Vila Real mayor Luís Gomes said that this sort of major cable failure would not happen if there had been a maintenance schedule for the bridge - rather than work being carried out on average every 8 years.
"The breaking of a cable does not happen overnight. This is a progressive process. The fact it has come to this shows there is no maintenance schedule for the bridge,” said Gomes who fears a serious accident, especially if another cable gives way, and wants work to start as soon as possible - like next week.
Infraestrutura de Portugal guarantees the bridge is safe and says the mayor’s fears are unwarranted but the mayor of Castro Marim also is not convinced, saying that several areas of the bridge need working on to "provide minimal security" because the bridge is "worn out and the broken cable shows that urgent action is needed. This should happen before there is an incident."
