Months have passed since the storms: 16 national roads are still closed in Portugal

Most of the damage caused by the heavy storm series in Portugal at the end of January on the transportation infrastructure has been repaired, but 16 roads have still not been opened to traffic. On the railway, the Beira Baixa line is expected to be fully reopened on September 20, and all sections in Linha do Oeste are expected to return to normal only in January 2027.

According to the data announced by the government in parliament, 16 of the 336 roads that were completely closed during storms remain closed; Four roads can be used with restrictions. citeturn0search10

It is not possible to rebuild some roads in the same place

Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Miguel Pinto Luz stated that the damage was so severe that it could not be repaired with simple repairs in some areas.

For example, parts of EN232 in Manteigas were physically destroyed by the storm. Major collapses occurred on EN8 in the Oeste region.

For this reason, on some routes it may not be possible to rebuild the road on its old route and alternative engineering solutions may be required. citeturn0search10

Beira Baixa on rail returns on September 20

The storms also caused hundreds of incidents on the rail network.

According to the data announced by the government, 681 incidents were recorded in the railway infrastructure and two lines are still not completely back to normal.

Linha da Beira Baixa is scheduled to reopen on September 20. January 2027 is targeted for return to normal service in all sections of Linha do Oeste. citeturn0search10

Repair budget is 490 million euros

Infraestruturas de Portugal has a total budget of 490 million euros for the repair of damaged infrastructure.

Of this, 221 million euros have already been contracted for highways and 78 million euros for railways. The remaining works are planned to move to the tender and implementation phase in the coming months. citeturn0search10

Work is not over in the telecom infrastructure either

The impact of storms is not limited to roads and railways.

According to government data, two of the three major telecom operators returned to normal service levels, while MEO had 323 fault records as of September 1.

Approximately 16 thousand telecom masts also need to be reinstalled. Permanent infrastructure repairs are expected to last until the first half of 2027. citeturn0search10

On the housing side, 35,908 support applications were made for storm damages. 82 percent of applications were reviewed; Payments were made to the majority of those eligible, and the total payment to families exceeded 80 million euros. citeturn0search10

The fact that roads remain closed months later suggests that the late January storms had not only a temporary but a long-term and costly impact on Portuguese infrastructure.

Resources

ECO — André Veríssimo, September 9, 2026: Ainda há 16 estradas fechadas devido ao mau tempo de fevereiro