Government determines urgent assessment of road and rail infrastructure

The Government requested an independent technical assessment of the national road and rail network infrastructure following the recent extreme weather events.

The decision is contained in the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Miguel Pinto Luz’s ordinance, which has already been published in the Government Gazette (Ordinance n.º 1776-A/2026).

According to the Minister, the measure responds to "the pressing need, given the extraordinary occurrences felt and the impacts on the national road and rail infrastructure, to carry out a thorough, rigorous, swift, and independent technical assessment".

The inspection will be carried out by the National Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC)and will focus on critical points such as bridges, tunnels, overpasses, water passageways, overhead crossings, retaining walls and ramps, with a priority given to the infrastructures in the most affected areas.

The ordinance ordains that within 30 business days, LNEC must present to the Government the criteria selection for the infrastructures to be assessed and the planning for the actions to be undertaken, specifying the timeframe to deliver the final report, which must not exceed one year.

Until the presentation of the final report, LNEC must also deliver monthly reports to the Government indicating the independent technical assessment’ progress. 

The Minister stresses that the aim is to "assess the structural, safety, and operational conditions of the various infrastructures regardless of them having visible signs of pathologies or not".

As for the outsourced infrastructure, the Institute of Mobility and Transport and Infraestruturas de Portugal must issue recommendations for conducting independent technical assessments and these reports are submitted to LNEC.

The ordinance safeguards that this urgent assessment does not take accountability away from the managing bodies, "including their duty to maintain or reinforce monitoring of  the infrastructures and, if need be, applying the preventive or remedial measures that are deemed necessary to maintain their safety and integrity".