Candemil residents protest EN15 closure as reopening is delayed until 2027

Residents report isolation, rising costs and a lack of answers. Infraestruturas de Portugal admits traffic may not resume until 2027.

Four months after landslides caused by February’s severe weather halted traffic on National Road 15 (EN15), residents of Candemil, in the municipality of Amarante, say their patience has run out. Their mounting frustration will now be voiced on the streets at a demonstration scheduled for this Saturday, organised by the local parish council.

The issue is the closure of the EN15 at kilometre 74.800, where part of the road platform slid down the hillside. Since then, hundreds of residents have had to rely on longer alternative routes to reach essential services, workplaces, schools and healthcare.

What may look like a detour of only a few kilometres to some means, for those living with the day-to-day reality of inland areas, higher costs, more time lost and greater difficulty accessing vital services.

“We have been forgotten”

“Things are being handled very badly,” says Candemil resident Norberto Teixeira de Moraes. “People who need to go to the health centre, the pharmacy or deal with anything in Amarante are forced to take huge detours. Where the journey used to be six kilometres, it is now practically twice as far.”

EN15 closure affects neighbouring parishes

The disruption is affecting not only Candemil, but also neighbouring parishes including Gondar, Ansiães, Aboadela, Várzea and Sanche, as well as the combined parishes of Bustelo, Carneiro and Carvalho de Rei.

Residents increasingly feel abandoned. “They tell us nothing. Nobody speaks to us. We feel forgotten. This is not simply about convenience. We are talking about access to healthcare and support for elderly people,” says Cristina Barbosa.

Candemil Parish Council president Ana Sofia Briga has also warned of the mounting consequences of the road closure.

Not until next year

“This situation is causing significant disruption to people’s lives. Travel costs have increased, while elderly people, students and those with reduced mobility face added difficulties, alongside the losses suffered by local institutions,” she says.

Amarante Municipal Council says it has been following the process with Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP).

The municipality’s president, Jorge Ricardo, says the public company is still preparing the technical studies and projects required for the works.

“The matter has not been forgotten. We are fully aware of the disruption this situation is causing for local people, but this is a complex intervention,” he said.

“A further meeting between the municipality and IP has been scheduled for 16 June to assess the progress of the process,” the mayor reveals.

In a response to JN, IP explained that “the engineering project needed to stabilise the hillside and rebuild the infrastructure is under development”.

IP expects to complete the project “by the end of July”, after which the construction contract will be put out to tender. It estimates that traffic will resume only in the “first months of 2027”.