VIAEXPRESSO Concession

The expressways correspond to roads with a maximum running speed of 80 km / h outside the localities and composed of a single lane with a cross section of 1x2 lanes plus berms, having an additional road on the ascending side for slow transports.

The VIAEXPRESSO Concession is distributed over 4 sections designated VE1 to VE4 (see figure below), for a total of 68.96 km. The tracks of this concession have, in general, a type profile with a platform with 2 tracks.

They have an additional track when the slopes of the trainings do not allow speeds suitable for heavy vehicles (sections VE1 and VE4).

VE3 presents a 1.3 km stretch with a 2 x 2-way profile, from the intersection with VR1 to the entrance of the Ribeira Brava / Tabua tunnel.

VE1, with 20.7 km, starts at VR1 in Machico, and ends at Ribeira de São Jorge, Santana county. The connection with VR1 is made using an uneven node and access to routes / locations crossed by level crossings or by roundabout intersections.

VE2, with 14.05 km, connects São Vicente and Porto Moniz, constituting an alternative to the old ER101.

VE3, with 21.86 km, starts in Ribeira Brava, develops along the southwest coast of the island and ends at Raposeira. This section crosses the localities of Tabua, Ponta do Sol, Magdalena do Mar and Calheta.

VE4, with 12.35 km, materializes the preferential link between the south coast and the north coast, to the west of the island. This section begins in Serra d'Água and ends in São Vicente (km 0 000 of section VE2). A significant part of the layout of this section is developed along the Encumeada tunnel, 3.1 km long.

The Concession has a Open line and Tunnel profile in about 98% of its extension, where the Tunnel route has a special highlight, representing about half of the total concession area.

The bridges / viaducts profile represents only 5% of the total concession.

The Concession is responsible for the operation and maintenance of 44 tunnels in the main network.

The VIAEXPRESSO is also responsible for 35 bridges / viaducts, 18 roundabouts, 7 overpasses and about 47 crossings of the hydraulic passage type and underpass. The bridges / viaducts have an average length of 80 m, the lowest being 16 m and the largest being 280 m.

The VIAEXPRESSO is in charge of two of the largest road tunnels in the country. Both are more than 3 km long, the most extensive being the Cortado tunnel in Santana, which is about 3200 m. It follows the Encumeada Tunnel (with 3100m), between the municipalities of Ribeira Brava and São Vicente, connecting the south coast to the north coast.

Identification of the tunnels involved in concession