Cermano-Cotobade, November 11, 2024.- The subdelegate of the Government in Pontevedra, Abel Losada, presided this morning at the Road Conservation Center located at the N-541 in Cermano-Cotobade, the signing of the Winter Road Plan with which, he explained, “the departments of the State Administration will coordinate and work throughout this autumn and winter to guarantee and mobility and good circulation conditions on the road network throughout the province, in the face of adverse weather phenomena, especially nevaradas.
The purpose of the Vialidade Plan is to establish the organization and procedures of action of the services, means and resources of the General State Administration available in the area of the province of Pontevedra and that, in the face of the prediction of precipitation in the form of snow, ice or other extreme climatic situations, it is necessary to mobilize to ensure the correct circulation in the State Road Network, reducing as much as possible the number of sections with traffic restrictions and avoiding the retention of vehicles or, where appropriate, minimizing their duration in the face of adverse climatological phenomena.
“It is, in short,” explained the deputy delegate, “to have everything planned to act quickly in situations in which traffic and, therefore, the security of citizens can be complicated.” For Abel Losada “we have just seen, unfortunately, the importance of protocols and the human and technical means to deal with emergencies being well “greased”; coordination and speed are crucial in the event of a disaster and roads are always a critical infrastructure”.
The Plan reaches several departments, all of them present at the signing of the protocol this morning. They are the Subdelegation itself, the Provincial Traffic Headquarters, represented by the provincial chief, Paula Yubero, the captain of the Traffic Subsector of the Civil Guard, Antonio Pérez Piteira, as well as the State Road Demarcation, represented by the head of the province, Pablo Domínguez, the Civil Guard itself and the National Police whose signature fell to Lieutenant Colonel Óscar Grañas and the provincial chief commissioner, Juan José Diaz.
For the coordination of the operation, several advanced command posts are created in the three zones in which the province is divided. As in previous years they are the North area (Deza regions), Center (Pontevedra and Tabeirós region -#Terra de Montes) and South of the Province (Vigo-Louriña - County - Paradanta).
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Abel Losada reported that for this operation, which runs until April 30, 2025, the existing means will be reinforced with 12 snow removal machines, one more than last year (which will be based in Lalín), 5 brine plants and 7 silos that store 1,580 tons of salt strategically distributed among the three areas of the province.
The subdelegate explained that there are 6 sections that are considered especially conflictive in the province due to the possibility of snow or ice during this winter. The most sensitive points are divided by the municipalities of Cañzia, As Neves, Covelo, Dozón, Lalín, Forcarei, Cereto-Cotobade, Agolada, Silleda and A Estrada. Specifically, the situation by roads and kilometer points is as follows: La-52 (15.5 Km including the mouths of the Folgoso tunnel), N-120 (17.1 Km encompassing the upper Fontefrice), N-525 (14.06 Km including the upper San Martiño and Santo Domingo), N-541 (37.3 Km including the site of Portela de Lamas), N-640 (20.09 Km including the upper Marco) and N-640 (15.08 Km including the upper Xindriz).
Abel Losada indicated that, traditionally, the province of Pontevedra is not one of the most conflictive when it comes to guaranteeing wintry weather, but warned that “we have to be attentive and have the necessary means to prevent the formation of ice plates on the roads and quickly proceed to the withdrawal of snow, there are snowfalls at the highest points, which are the most complicated”.