The government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, stressed this Friday in Pontevedra that “the government complies with Galicia” promoting large infrastructures to improve mobility in the territory. He did so during the opening ceremony of the first stretch of the A-57 between the towns of Vilaboa and A Ermida, in which he was accompanied by the deputy delegate of the Government in Pontevedra, Abel Losada, and the mayors of Pontevedra, Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores; Vilaboa, César Poza, and Ponte Caldelas, Andrés Díaz.
“After 9 years of works of great complexity, we bring a gift of Reyes to the region of Pontevedra, the most important work that has been executed in the environment of the capital of the province in recent years,” said the delegate, who recalled that the Government had committed to have it ready before the end of the year. “We are talking about a new success for the Ministry of Transport headed by Minister Óscar Puente,” he said.
In this sense, Pedro Blanco affirmed that the Government of Spain’s impulse to the great infrastructures of Galicia “is palmarian in this final stretch of the year”, since, in addition to the implementation of the A-57, it is expected that next week the viaduct of O Castro will open on the A-6 and, in the first days of January the same will happen with the stretch of the A-54 between Palas de Rei and Melide, “three giant steps for the communication infrastructures of Galicia that reinforce social and territorial cohesion and that supposedly entailed an enormous investment and important technical challenges”, he said.
In the case of the section of the A-57 that enters into service today, the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has invested 94 million euros in the construction of 7.7 km of track, including work, expropriations and technical assistance, which allows to significantly improve mobility and road safety in the metropolitan environment of Pontevedra.
Not in vain, the opening of this high-capacity infrastructure in the southeast of the city of Pontevedra allows to reduce the traffic pressure on the current southern access by the N-550 and redistribute it.
The new road between Vilaboa and A Ermida consists of a 5.7 km stretch with motorway section (four lanes, two for each direction) and a 2 km stretch with 2+1 format, which has the function of connecting the A-57 with the remodeled link of Figueirido (Vilaboa), where they connect the AP-9, the N-550 and the N-554.
This remodeling of the Figueirido link will allow access to Redonda and Pontevedra, through the N-550, connect with the AP-9 in the northern direction and through the N-554 access to the AP-9 on the Rande Bridge.
Features of the new stretch
The new section of the A-57 is located in the metropolitan area of Pontevedra, connecting this city with Vilaboa and touring the towns of A Ermida, Pintos, Valladares, Pumariño, Bértola, Outeiro and Boullosa.
It has seven upper passes, one of which follows the Portuguese Camino de Santiago, four lower passes and four viaducts, three of which cross the Pintos, Pobo and O Barco rivers.
- Boat, with 159 meters in length, two boards and four poles of 40 meters each, approximately.
- Pintos, 89 meters long, a board and three holes of 30 meters each, approximately.
- Pobo, with 103 meters, two boards and three vanes of 34 meters each, approximately.
- Pontevedra-Redonda railway, 314 meters long and 9 vans, which passes above the old railway line and below the high-speed line.
This last structure elegantly solves the complex geometric conditions of having to cross over the old railway track and under the viaduct of the High Speed Line Frame of the Atlantic Railway axis, fitting its layout between the existing stacks.
In addition, the stretch has three links that improve the permeability and connectivity of the area:
- Link To Ermida, with the road PO-532
- Link of Vilaboa with the A-57, the N-554R and the PO-0001
- Link of Vilaboa with the N-550, N-554 and AP-9.
Environmental Respect
All the action has been enhanced with maximum environmental and landscape respect, with the aim of helping to mitigate CO2 emissions and maintain the cultural and landscape richness of the area. For example, autonomous street lamps equipped with solar power and batteries have been installed on the A-57’s end gazebo.
Hydrosowing has been carried out on the slopes of the embankments, plantations on the waterways, and roundabouts and a treatment on several slopes of dismantling, through geogrid and projection of plant land and sowing.
2.8 hectares of natural CO2 sinks have been designed, through indigenous plantations reducing the carbon footprint of the work.
In addition, a hórreo has been moved in Pintos and the mill of Soutelo has been restored. The legoeiro frame that marked the ancient leagues of the Camino Real in O Marco, Vilaboa, has been replaced.
Bypass Highway
The project of the Pontevedra Ring Road has two other contiguous sections (Curro-Pilarteiros and Pilarteiros-A Ermida), which will allow to form a new road arch of 21 kilometers, which will serve as an alternative without toll and of great capacity to the current N-550, linking with several tracks such as the AP-9, the N-550, the N-554 and the N-541.