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The problem of access to Polígono Industrial S. Torcato, on Rua D. Afonso Henriques, in Guimarães, is old. In rainy weather, the narrow access, on a parallel floor, with a rising elbow bend, causes the trucks to lose traction and cannot move.
Neither forward nor backward. This is how the trucks that want to access the São Torcato Industrial Park, especially the articulated ones, stay when they lose traction in a very tight curve, on a parallel floor, in an area where the street is very steep.
The drivers explain that the situation worsens when they travel without load, “since the tractors (front of the articulated vehicle) have less traction with less weight”. In the middle of the curve the rear wheels of the tractor stop gripping, the truck stops and this, in most cases, is fatal. To get out of that situation only with the help of another truck, or an agricultural tractor that serves as a trailer.
The situation is so old that, in 2011, Darita, a company dedicated to the manufacture of footwear, already complained to the Chamber. “It was concluded that the road is not prepared to support trucks, so the company should not be located there,” was the response that Darita de la Cámara received at that time. The company was so disappointed with the response that it did not contact the Municipality again.
In rainy weather, the narrow access, on a parallel floor, with an elbow bend, causes the trucks to lose traction. Photo: Rui Dias / O MINHO
However, over the years, companies continued to settle in that Industrial Zone. Recently, it was a transport company that settled there and that exacerbated the problem. Not only is there more truck traffic, but there are more articulated trucks. “What happens is that with the constant passage of heavy trucks, the road is getting into with two ravines on each side, the road falls under the weight of the trucks”, describes António Miranda, owner of the Gilde cafeteria, in the heart from the Industrial Zone.
Alberto Martins, president of the São Torcato Parish Council, adds to the problem the fact that this is one of the main accesses to the deployment of the Republican National Guard and to some housing areas.
“It happened to me that I arrived here and two trucks are stopped because they cannot cross. In these cases we have to go back, but in addition to being far away, the road is terrible ”, says Manuela, an employee of Take Away, another shoe factory installed in that Industrial Zone.
“When the GNR arrives here and cannot pass, it closes its eyes and comes back,” testifies António Miranda.
The problem arises in about 200 meters, from the crossing of the EM 207/4, passing through the bridge over the Selho river to the Industrial Zone. Alberto Martins confirms that he has already had contacts with Councilor Ricardo Costa and that the promise remained that the problem would be solved.
The President of the Board received instructions from the Chamber to verify with the owners the availability for the provision of the land necessary for the widening of the road. “They all agreed to give up the land. They told me that the work would start in 2020 ”, says Alberto Martins.
Desperate for years of waiting, the population signed a petition that, last September, they sent to the São Torcato Parish Council and the Guimarães City Council. 22 affected residents, merchants and businessmen signed the document.
The Board confesses that it is powerless to solve the problem that “has a cost that is not bearable by the budget of that organization.” Alberto Martins affirms that he believes that the Chamber already has a project for that work and that he simply does not know why the contract does not start now.
Asked about the situation, the City Council did not respond as to whether there is a project, or whether there is any scheduled date for the start of the works.
While the road is not being repaired, the tractor of Mr. Santos, who owns a nearby dairy, moves forward as a last resort solution, when there is no driver available to help a stuck colleague.
“The day the trucking company came, we went seven or eight times with the tractor,” recalls Martinho, Mr. Santos’s son.
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