Infraestruturas de Portugal assured this Monday, December 22, that short-term measures are taking place on Estrada Nacional 378, which connects the municipalities of Seixal and Sesimbra, to respond “immediately” to security needs, before a structural intervention in 2026.
According to Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP), the intervention project was presented in detail this Monday at a technical meeting with Seixal Municipal Council, in the district of Setúbal.
The project, the company revealed in a statement, “integrates the contributions presented in due time by the municipality within the scope of the consultation process carried out in 2024”.
EN 378 was flooded on November 13th due to heavy rain, affecting several vehicles.
Subsequently, on December 9, IP indicated that works for a structural intervention should begin at the end of the first half of 2026, with an estimated investment of 20 million euros.
At the meeting that took place this Monday, IP adds, the need for additional interventions in the area surrounding the EN378, which is the responsibility of other entities, including the municipality of Seixal, was also analyzed.
“This articulation was addressed in detail, with a view to adopting the necessary measures for its execution with the speed that the situation justifies, since only a coordinated intervention between the road drainage system and the surrounding area will ensure, in a lasting way, the preservation of the integrity of the road and its use in safe conditions”reinforces IP.
Quoted in the note, the president of IP, Miguel Cruz, highlights that “the effectiveness of this intervention depends on coordinated action between all entities with responsibility in the territory”.
“IP is doing its part, promoting technical dialogue and ensuring that the project integrates solutions compatible with the local reality”he says.
Also according to IP, the fundamental intervention on the EN378 has a particular impact on the complete reformulation of the drainage system and the improvement of the pavements, with “the preliminary steps necessary to publish the respective announcement being currently underway, with the launch of the tender scheduled for the beginning of 2026 and the start of the work by the end of the first semester”.
“EN378 is a critical infrastructure for mobility in the region and requires a structural, technical and coordinated response”adds Miguel Cruz, explaining that, therefore, “IP took the decision to move forward with a fundamental intervention, properly prepared, that will allow the identified problems to be definitively resolved, particularly in terms of drainage and pavement”.
While the structural intervention is prepared, IP says, the priority is to ensure safety conditions on the EN378, through permanent monitoring, the execution of maintenance actions and direct support to users.
Among the ongoing actions, IP (whose shareholder is the Portuguese State and is subject to the supervision of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Finance), highlights the continuous monitoring of the road and permanent articulation to guarantee safety conditions, the cleaning of drainage systems, corrections to the pavement and execution of specific interventions, the provision of Mobile Inspection and Assistance Units (UMIA) along the entire length of the section and the reinforcement and adaptation of signage to the existing concrete conditions.
These short-term measures complement the fundamental structural intervention already approved, “allowing us to respond immediately to safety needs, while preparing a definitive solution that will increase the resilience of EN378 in the face of extreme meteorological phenomena”adds the company.