“We will gather the necessary signatures, of course, so that this matter can be discussed in the Assembly of the Republic, with the aim of reassessing the works”, the president of the Association of Users of the 25 de Abril Bridge, Aristides Teixeira, told Lusa news agency.

The intervention carried out on the Complementary Itinerary (IC) 20, on the road that connects Almada to Costa da Caparica, in the district of Setúbal, is in question. The works were completed at the beginning of this month, after 20 months of work.

The intervention consisted of widening the road from three to four lanes in each direction, between Centro Sul and the Faculty of Science and Technology (Caparica), over a distance of 3.9 kilometres.

Now, those traveling from Costa da Caparica towards Lisbon have access to a tunnel and a viaduct, which guarantee direct access to the so-called ‘bottleneck’ area of ​​the 25 de Abril Bridge.

However, in the view of bridge users, traffic in the area has become “worse”, especially for drivers who intend to come to Lisbon or other destinations on the south bank of the Tagus, other than Almada.

“The layout and the road for those going to Almada are perfect. Now, what would be unnecessary, for this to work, would be to hinder those who want to take the detour to Setúbal, Alcochete, Montijo, Barreiro, who are forced to make a labyrinthine journey to finally be able to get onto the motorway”, he warned.

Aristides Teixeira also mentioned that the new route has caused long lines during peak hours and has increased fuel consumption.

With the municipal elections approaching, the representative also appealed to voters not to vote for candidates who “do not condemn” the payment of tolls on the 25 de Abril Bridge and the results of these works.

“They do not deserve our vote and, therefore, we must, in view of this, vote blank, thus expressing our repudiation of the situation that is seriously affecting us,” he argued.

The IC20 registers average daily traffic of more than 60,000 vehicles.