The design of construction and rehabilitation projects for road infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, must take into account the reality of climate change.
The delegate of the National Roads Administration (ANE), Jorge Govanhica, said that a team from the Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources (MOPHRH) concluded in a recent assessment that the flow capacity of some hydraulic infrastructures is inadequate for the scenarios currently experienced.
In this context, he said, it is necessary to design projects looking at this new reality. According to Govanhica, it will be necessary to look at rainfall levels and flow capacity, in addition to the need for re-analysis of river flows.
As an example, he indicated that the Elije River, in Nicoadala, cut the N1, since the bridge, built in the 1970s, was outdated because it was found to have a very limited flow capacity.
Another problem that concerns ANE is related to the invasion of roadsides, banks and bridges for the practice of agricultural activity.
The delegate explained that this situation makes the road infrastructure more vulnerable because most bridges and aqueducts are destroyed in the rainy season, as a result of runoff from tree trunks and other solids, dragged due to intense human activity.
Jorge Govanhica also pointed out that, due to the new scenarios imposed by climate change, the responsibility and care of roads should not be exclusive to “Public Works”, and the governmental areas of Agriculture and Environment, police authorities, and other actors should also be called upon, in order to guarantee the conservation of the public patrimony.
