ABOUT

The biggest challenges of the project are related to the narrow corridor available for the implementation of the road, due to the high construction density, and the risk flooding near the Torto river.

The scope of work of this project is the development of the Preliminary and Detailed design of the Cávado Bypass roadway, in the section between “Nó de Ferreiros” and “Av. Do Estádio” in Frossos, located in the districts of Braga, municipality of Braga. Developing its alignment in a preferably south/north direction, the new roadway is fully inserted in the municipality of Braga.

GEG is responsible for the preliminary and detail design of all the disciplines, including roadway, pavement, traffic studies, environmental studies, viaducts, overpasses, underpasses and hydraulic passes, geotechnics, geological studies and topography.

The total length of the roadway is of approximately 17.7 km and the construction has already started. Sections I and II of this roadway were built within the scope of the construction of accesses to the area commercial, New Arcade.

The sector that is part of the scope of this project has an extension of approximately 3.6 km, including branches of the Ferreiros junction, three roundabouts, and the refurbishment of all roads intercepted by the Bypass.

The section under study will be designed for a design speed of 70 km/h, and with a transversal profile to accommodate two carriageways with two lanes each, central separator, interior and exterior shoulders, and sidewalks.

Figure 2 – Design layout of the “Variante do Cávado” in the sector under study

Figure 3 – Cross-sectional Profile of “Variante do Cávado”

The biggest challenges of the project are related to the narrow corridor available for the implementation of the road in its final section, given the high construction density; and the proximity to the Torto river which areas are on risk of flooding. The intervention will have to safeguard the occupation of floodplains and the minimization of the impacts of the flow downstream of the road, with the creation of retention basins to attenuate the flood peaks.

For these reasons, the Environment subject, in this study, plays a fundamental role in making the project viable and in mitigating the less positive impacts.

Figure 4 – Simulation of flooded areas in the area surrounding the implementation of the roadway