The municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia wants to take advantage of the route of the high-speed rail line to close and recover the quarries to the north of the A29, between Canelas and Vilar do Paraíso, according to the Environmental Impact Study (EIA).
“In contact with the Vila Nova de Gaia City Council, the latter suggested that the possibility of a route further to the east, in the Vilar do Paraíso area, passing through the site of the quarries to the north of the A29 (which is due to close soon), be analyzed,” reads the EIA for the Porto - Aveiro section of the Porto - Lisbon high-speed rail line.
The document states that the proposed solution provides “a more favourable alignment and tunnel, to the south and north of the same [quarries], which would minimize the impact on urban areas”.
At issue is the Vila Nova de Gaia bypass, a 14.6-kilometre route mostly in a tunnel, which the EIA recommends be adopted, and which “minimizes the impact on urban areas in Serzedo and Vilar do Paraíso”, in Gaia.
After contacting the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG) about the passage under the quarries, “it was concluded that the bypass was technically feasible, with the advantage that, in the areas already exploited, it would be possible to deposit material to be extracted from the high-speed rail line tunnels and thus contribute to the recovery of the quarries,” reads the same document.
“This process is also in line with Vila Nova de Gaia City Council's goal of seeing quarries that are currently located in urban areas closed down and restored,” it says.
A twin-tube tunnel solution is proposed (with a tube for each direction of traffic) that would intersect “one of the quarries in Vilar do Paraíso, which is already at the end of its operation and closure (2027)”, reconciling “the urban development that the quarry area could have after its sealing, the remaining closure of which will take place by 2028”.
“The Vila Nova de Gaia bypass, in addition to five tunnels, with a total length of 9,238 m [meters] (63% of the route), also has a viaduct, with 550 m - 4% of the route), seven restorations and 10 PH [hydraulic passages],” the document reads.
The bypass will then reach the Gaia subway station, located between the Santo Ovídio and D. João II metro stations, which will be “500 m long, with passenger platforms 420 m long and 5.0 m wide”, and will be “a station of the station type”, as there will be no road detour.
Depending on the solution adopted for the type of tunnel (monotube or bitube), the configuration of the station could be altered accordingly, with the geometric characteristics of the station allowing “a maximum speed of 120 km/h for trains that do not stop at the station”.
The line then goes on to the new road-rail bridge over the River Douro, whose proposal promotes a “similar image” to the Luís I bridge.
The Porto-Aveiro section of the future high-speed rail line, which will link Vigo to Lisbon, will cost 1.65 billion euros, 500 million of which will be financed by European funds.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
