The pedestrian overpass of the Santa Cruz-Damaia train station, essential for residents of Cova da Moura and Buraca, will reopen after long-awaited works by Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) to make the route more visible and safer. Access has been closed since 2020 and conditioned since 2009.
The pedestrian overpass at Damaia train station, much used by residents of the Cova da Moura and Buraca neighborhoods in Amadora, has been closed for more than three years. However, this closure, which has impacted the daily routine of hundreds of people, forcing them to detour hundreds of meters to reach the train, is about to come to an end. Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) recently awarded the contract that will correct this situation.
Since 2009, the pedestrian overpass at the Santa Cruz-Damaia train station has been conditioned, with reduced opening hours, after several incidents of drug use in this area, which led to the intervention of the Public Security Police, as well as complaints and claimsas IP and the Amadora City Council explained to the newspaper Message from Lisbon in May last year. Faced with this situation, in 2020, citing hygiene and safety reasons and the pandemic context at the time, IP - with the agreement of the municipality - permanently closed this crossing.
This situation has caused significant inconvenience, especially for the residents of Cova da Moura and Buraca, according to the same report. Residents allege a lack of dialogue and collaboration from the local authorities, emphasizing that the closure of the overpass seemed to be part of a policy of territorial segregation. In addition, the access, considered crucial for the community, was closed without due consideration of effective alternatives. Children from EB1 Águas Livres, who used the bridge to get to school quickly, now have to take a detour of several meters. Similarly, workers from these neighborhoods, who often take the first trains of the day to Lisbon, were also deprived of direct access to the station.
In a total investment of 214.8 thousand euros, IP will now resolve the situation. The solution will involve demolish part of the infrastructure of the overpass to make it more open to the city, thus solving the safety problems encountered. The aim is to remove roofs and window frames. “make the route more visible and therefore less unsafe"In addition to crossing the train line, there is also access to the passenger platforms. "The aim is also to improve passive safety for users by completely replacing the railings on stairs and landings", you can read in the description of the intervention.
"Finally, the removal of some materials will also make it possible to reduce the number of elements that can be vandalized." IP acknowledges that said access is "an area with a high level of vandalism"The work to be carried out is intended not only to provide a safe crossing corridor for people and passengers, but also to "facilitating
future maintenance" by the public company.
The two exits from the pedestrian overpass, the north and south exits, will no longer be covered structuresThe existing staircases in each of them will be visible to the city. They will also be elevators removed and all the associated equipment, since they don't work and were a recurring target for vandalism. The same description reads: "By IP's decision, all the elevators in the passageway (which have been damaged by misuse and vandalism) will be deactivated and removed from their boxes, and it is not expected that they will be replaced in the future." There are no elevators or other facilities for wheelchair users in the station's main concourse. In the passageway itself, the side plates will be removed in order to improve the visibility of the area. To the same end, the entire lighting infrastructure will be completely refurbished.
The Santa Cruz-Damaia station, inaugurated in 1999, is vital for the mobility of residents in the Damaia area and also on the outskirts of Benfica, providing a quick connection to the central parts of the capital. The community has been fighting for the reopening of direct access to Cova da Moura and Buraca; in April 2023, a sit-in was organized by the Vida Justa movement to demand the immediate reopening of access.
In response to the criticism, Amadora Câmara and IP said at the time that they were redesigning the access. The project that will now be carried out has been ready since the end of 2020, but the public tender was only launched last year. InitiallyIP even promised to fix the problem by 2022. A adjudication the contract was awarded at the beginning of this year; the work will be carried out by NortejuvilThe project is expected to last five months from the time it starts. All told, Cova da Moura and Buraca will once again have direct access to the train station by the end of 2024.
