The IP3 will be duplicated in a motorway format between Souselas (Coimbra) and Penacova, revealed the prime minister, adding that work on the connection between Souselas and the A13 will also be resumed.
The Prime Minister announced, this Tuesday, that the Council of Ministers tomorrow, the 17th, will approve the future route of the Complementary Itinerary (IP3), which connects Coimbra to Viseu, respecting the ambitions of the intermunicipal communities in the Region of Coimbra and Dão Lafões.
According to Luís Montenegro, who was speaking in Ceira (Coimbra), at the inauguration ceremony of the Mondego Mobility System (SMM) between Coimbra and Serpins (Lousã), the IP3 will be duplicated in motorway format between Souselas (Coimbra) and Penacova.
It will also be, he said, the connection between Souselas and the A13 was made, the work on which stopped several years ago at the gates of Coimbranot forgetting a connection that serves Góis and Arganil, further inland from the district of Coimbra.
These routes, according to Montenegro, will give “the region the ability for everyone to have the opportunity to enter the road network safely and be able to leverage their local economies and get closer to the national road transport network”.
“The proximity via the ‘metrobus’ (SMM) of all contact centers with this network is an axis of approximation and connection with the road network”, highlighted the prime minister, who also announced for Wednesday the launch of the tender for the second phase of the high-speed line, between Oiã and Soure.
The ambitions of intermunicipal communities
Intermunicipal Community of the Coimbra Region (CIMRC) defended on Monday the construction of the Penacova bypass and a connection from the A13 to the IP3as part of the requalification of that route.
That structure defends the requalification of the highway profile along the entire IP3 route, in a deliberation taken at the intermunicipal council that took place on Thursday and which has already been sent to the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing.
CIMRC also proposes the construction of the so-called Penacova bypass in a highway profile, including a structuring road connecting the municipalities south of the IP3 and which may end in Góis.
The CIM of Viseu Dão Lafões also spoke today about the requalification of IP3, arguing that it could be completed in 2030 and no tolls.
The SMM operation between Coimbra and Serpins (Lousã), passing through Miranda do Corvo, started today with free service until the end of the month.
The system operates using electric buses (‘metrobus’) on a dedicated track, with a suburban operation (between the three municipalities) and an urban operation in the city of Coimbra, with connections to the Coimbra-B train station and the Coimbra University Hospitals, which are expected to come into operation in 2026.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing, project manager, estimates that the SMM is used by 13 million people per year, after an investment of 220 million euros, supported by the State Budget and community funds.
