About Mrresident of the Marinha Grande City Council had already demanded immediate exemption from paying tolls on the section of highway 8 (A8). Also the Montemor-o-Velho Chamber requested the temporary suspension of toll payments on Highway 14 (A14).
The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, revealed, this Monday, that the Government is evaluating the exemption from tolls in areas affected by the passage of Depression Kristin and promised a solution in the next few hours.
“We are evaluating and, in the next few hours, we will bring a solution, for sure”, he highlighted, leaving a meeting in which he participated, this Monday, in Leiria, together with the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Castro Almeida.
Several Secretaries of State were also present at the meeting.construction companies, business associations, the president of the Central Regional Coordination and Development Commission, several inter-municipal communities, the Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (IAPMEI), the presidents of the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto, and the person responsible for the Mission Structure for the Recovery of Areas Affected by the Depression Kristin.
To journalists, Pinto Luz explained that the Government is evaluating this possibility, after being contacted by some mayors.
“We are realizing that these are national roads that should offer a service to the population, to the economy and are not being able to be done. In cases where this service is not being able to be done, therefore, the State has failed, and from this point of view it has not been able to fulfill this dimension of the national road network”, he said.
The government official said that the teams are working to find a solution and recalled that the highway concession is private.
“We are evaluating all dimensions and, without generating expectations, this is what I told the mayors. What we have experienced, today I came from Ourém, I came from Ferreira do Zêzere, it is an absolutely unique situation”, he concluded.
Local authorities appeal to the Executive
This Monday, the President of the Municipal Council of Marinha Grande, Paulo Vicente, had demanded the immediate exemption from paying tolls on the section of highway 8 (A8) which serves the municipality, between Marinha Grande and Leiria.
Also the Montemor-o-Velho Chamber asked, this Monday, for the temporary suspension of toll payments on Highway 14 (A14), while restrictions are maintained on several roads in the municipality, following the Kristin depression.
Nine people have died since last week following bad weather. Civil Protection recorded five deaths directly associated with the passage of the Kristin depression and the Câmara da Marinha Grande announced another fatality, to which were then added three deaths recorded due to falls from roofs (during repairs) or poisoning originating from a generator.
