Funchal City Council has admitted that some of its roadworks were badly built, after storm Bruna exposed weak points across the city. The council's deputy mayor, Carlos Rodrigues, said the damage revealed vulnerabilities that keep coming back.
Storm Bruna Exposes Three Recurring Trouble Spots in Funchal
Rodrigues said three zones are already known to cause problems whenever heavy rain falls. He called them critical areas that the council has identified and tracked over time.
In any of these situations, we had the teams - dozens of people involved in the clean-up work. We tried to resolve these situations as quickly as possible. However, we will have to look into them.
Carlos Rodrigues, deputy mayor of Funchal
Estrada Monumental Near the SICON Roundabout Tops the List
The first trouble spot is Estrada Monumental, near the monument at the SICON roundabout. The road, one of Funchal's main arteries, flooded like a river during the same storm last weekend.
Cota 40 and Francisco Franco Tunnels Show Years-Old Damage
The other two zones are the Cota 40 tunnel and the Francisco Franco tunnel. Rodrigues described both as carrying pathologies that have existed for many years.
He said the council will need structural work, not quick fixes, to solve the underlying problems.
Structural work, really - widening what was narrowed, and de-sealing what was sealed, as far as that is feasible. Because we are not going to tear down buildings to solve this problem. Now, within the engineering solutions available to us, we will try to resolve these issues.
Carlos Rodrigues, deputy mayor of Funchal
New Rain Alerts for Tuesday and Wednesday Threaten More Closures
Forecasters expect strong rain this Tuesday and Wednesday, matching IPMA's latest warnings for Madeira. Rodrigues said he would not hesitate to close roads again if needed.
The council will shut any access point or zone that puts lives at risk, he said.
But we also have to be careful here, because we cannot block or obstruct people's access to their homes and businesses. So we will always assess the situation as it happens. But the same way it happened this weekend, we will do it.
Carlos Rodrigues, deputy mayor of Funchal
Sources: madeira.rtp.pt Youtube
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