DRAFT LAW NO. 145 /X

Establishes the guarantee of the rights of users

during the realization of works on motorways

Exhibition of Motives

The national motorway network has been increasingly taking on an importance

strategic for our country, in the most diverse fields of economic activity and

mobility of citizens. The current situation is, to a large extent, an obvious

consequence of transport policy followed by successive governments, with a

greater use of individual transport, in addition to the absence of an option that

promote, in particular, the rail passenger and freight transport.

In this context of high dependence on the transport system and face acessibilities

to road mode and motorways, there is the huge impact for their

users that always result from the execution of maintenance and conservation works or the

increase in the number of pathways in these infrastructures.

Particularly on highways such as A1 (North highway), the A5 (motorway)

of the Estoril Coast) or more recently the A2 (motorway of the South), are visible

consequences for the movement and for the users who arise from the work there

coming into being, since soon by the reduction of the maximum speed to levels

below 80 km/h (little in consentine with the levels of traffic fluidity required of

a motorway), but also at the level of road safety, depending on the

changes to the conditions of circulation, with the reduction of cross-sectional profiles, deviations from the

carriageway, suppression of berms, etc.

In the face of the consequences of these interventions for the quality, safety and comfort of the

road circulation, the first conclusion that is recorded is that in those

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circumstances, the service provided by the concessionary company of the motorway (s) in

cause does not actually correspond to what the legislation determines-and to the assumption itself

of the payment of the respective toll.

Situations of this type are framed and regulated, within the framework of the granting scheme of

motorways, not in a general and uniting way, but in the function of each contract

of concession and its legal framework. Thus, there is no effective

uniformity of criteria and guidelines, including at the level of procedures

technicians in conservation and maintenance operations, etc.

The need to supply such a gap in legislative and regulatory terms was incidentally

underscored in the Report approved by the Court of Auditors on April 10, 2003, in the

scope of the audit then carried out to the award contract of the Brisa. This Report of

audit assumes in this strand an undiscernible importance, to the extent that such

company is a dealership of most of the national motorway network, being

currently within the scope of this concession contract that have been carried out the works of

increase in the number of tracks with increased relevance and impact-and, register, with the

biggest delays.

Please refer, by way of example, that the work of enlargement of the A1 among the nodes of Santa

Maria da Fair and IC 24, recently started, was scheduled for the second

semester of 1999. On the other hand, the intervention in A2, among the Coina nodes and

Rocket fire, also started recently, depended only, under the terms of the contract of

concession, from the completion of A12 (Setúbal/Montijo), whose inauguration took place ... there are seven

years.

On this matter of the execution of works on highways, and their consequences

for users, has already pronounced the Assembly of the Republic, in Resolution adopted

unanimously to January 15, 2004. That initiative (presented by the Groups

Parliamentarians who then supported the Government) by finding out the situation that already then if

made it feel particularly gravy-namely in A1-stated

clearly in your statement of reasons that " in these circumstances it is not fair to charge

toll. In good rigour, in these cases the motorway becomes virtual, not a

true motorway. The payment of tolls on the motorway only comprises

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when the speed and safety conditions inherent in the circulation are offered

normal road on motorway or, on the limit, in very approximate conditions

of these. (...) The suspension or reduction of the payment value of the tolls, in these

situations, it represents even an attitude of good faith and respect on the part of the State in

relation to motorway users, because they have changed the assumptions they justify

the collection of tolls. "

In that sense, the Assembly of the Republic unanimously adopted Resolution No.

14/2004, in the sense of " recommending to the Government that it promote to the entities

motorway dealerships the change of the bases of the respective concessions, having

in view to provide the best service to users in the event of the realization of works or

work on these road communication routes ".

Despite insufficient on the extent of the recommended measures-just as the CFP has warned

in the debate in Plenary of the Draft Resolution-the truth is that these recommendations

have not taken effect, particularly in its most important strand: that of renegotiation

of the concession contracts, with a view to suspending the collection of tolls.

On the other hand, it becomes necessary to ensure the existence of a legal planning that

determine common standards for the safeguarding of the rights of motorway users

and major road crossings in the face of the present situations. Rights that include the

issue of the suppression of tolls in the labor sublanges, but which also say

respect to subjects such as information and assistance to the utent, monitoring and

promotion of road safety, information to the authorities or the consecration of

common technical and operational procedures, to be followed by the dealerships.

With this Draft Law, we propose in particular the following measures:

-The exemption from the payment of tolls during the realization of works on the motorways and

road crossings, to the extent corresponding to the sublanket in the works;

-The mandatory publication of information relating to the works in implementation,

including your dates of start and finish, conditioners and limitations and pathways

alternative;

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-The monitoring and regular and up-to-date provision of elements concerning the

road claims registered in the sections in the works with a view to the adoption of the

necessary preventive measures;

-The guarantee of provision, free of charge, of assistance and sanitary and mechanical aid

to users;

-Prior information to the authorities on scheduled interventions, as well as the

consideration of opinions by these issued in advance and respective seat of study

environmental impact study;

-The approval of a National Regulation of Operation Procedures and

Maintenance, establishing common criteria and standards, to be observed across the entire network

national of motorways.

Being certain that, in cases where the highways are managed by the state, without that

there is place the concession contract (as is the case of the Longitudinal Way of the Algarve), the

Government can guarantee the implementation of the measures here proposals, it is no less true

that the vast majority of the national motorway network is currently explored by

dealership companies-by which the renegotiation of the respective contracts of

grant is a necessary condition for the realization of these standards.

It is, however, necessary to emphasize that, more than necessary for the effects of the

provisions of this Draft Law, the renegotiation of concession contracts

(specifically the one established with the Brisa-Motorways of Portugal, SA) is a

imperative of justice and defense of the interest of the state. This concludes incidentally from the reading of the

Audit Report above referenced, in which the Court of Auditors presented

as the first and most important recommendation to the Concepdent State that " in

timely moment, be triggered the process of renegotiation of this contract of

concession ", following the finding of the clearly unfavourable circumstances

for the state that result from the contract negotiated with that dealership company.

In these terms, and in the face of the exposed, the undersigned Deputies of the Parliamentary Group

of the CFP present, under the applicable constitutional and regimental provisions,

the following Draft Law:

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Article 1.

Subject

This Law sets out the standards relating to the rights of users during the

realization of works on lanes and subsections of motorways and road crossings, without

injury to more favorable regimes established or to establish.

Article 2.

Scope

1-For the purposes of this Law, work for the purpose of the increase shall be considered

of the number of routes and the maintenance and conservation of motorways and crossings

road that integrate PRN 2000, whether they are concessionaires or managed by the

State, which entail during its realization one of the following situations:

a) Reduction of the maximum speed limit of circulation;

b) Reduction of the number of pathways in service;

c) Deviations from the carriageway;

d) Suppression of berms.

2-Are excluded from the provisions of the preceding paragraph the punctual and the

emergency, as well as those, not having been foreseen, to be carried out on the grounds of force

greater, and may not yet, to that effect, exceed a period of implementation of

48 hours.

Article 3.

Concepts

In the scope of this Law, the following concepts are considered:

a) Motorways-the motorways and joint sets of them associated with them, including

works of art, toll squares and service areas in them incorporated, well

as the connecting nodes and sections of the roads that complete them;

b) Road crossings-the crossings that integrate Main Itineraries and

Supplementary to PRN 2000, with the respective bridges, viaducts and

viary pools to them associated, including toll squares and areas of

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service in them incorporated as well as the connecting knots and sections of the roads

that they complete them;

c) Concepdent-the Portuguese State, represented by the Ministry of Finance

for economic and financial aspects, and by the Ministry with the tutelage of

public works and the road sector for the rest;

d) Grant Contract-the contract, approved by a Resolution of the Council of

Ministers, concerning the design, the project, the construction, the financing,

to the exploitation and / or the conservation of one or more motorways or crossings

road in concession regime;

e) Launches-the viary sections in which the self-straddling sections are divided;

f) PRN 2000-the National Road Plan, approved by the Decree-Law n.

222/98 of July 17, with the wording given by Law No. 98/99, 26 of

July, and by the Decree-Law No. 182/2003, of August 16.

g) National road information service-the national collection service,

provision, processing and forwarding of detailed information and

updated on the conditions of movement and safety on the tracks of

road movement, determined by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers

n. 94/2005, of May 24.

h) Supblanch-trolle of motorway between two consecutive bonding nodes;

Article 4.

Exemption of toll

During the realization of the work referred to in Article 2, the motorways and crossings

road vehicles subject to toll arrangements shall be exempted from their payment, to the extent

corresponding to the sublanges where the execution of the work takes place.

Article 5.

Prior information to users

1-Users have the right to be informed in advance about the realization of the works

referred to in Article 2, being compulsorily included in that information the following

elements relating to the running works:

a) the entity responsible for the work;

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b) The overall amounts of investment and sources of funding;

c) the date of the beginning and completion of the work;

d) the conditioners and limitations arising from their achievement;

e) Alternative pathways to the lanes or subsections of the motorway or the crossing

road where the intervention decorates.

2-A information referred to in the preceding paragraph is made available, thirty days before

of the beginning of the work and until its completion by the following means:

a) Fixation of signage panels in the previous viary accesses to the nodes of

connection to the sublanges where the work is carried out;

(b) provision of the information on the Internet portal and telephone line of the service

national road information;

3-Seven days prior to the commencement of proceedings, the information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be

ad object, to be published in two national circulation papers and in the service

public radio and television.

4-Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding paragraphs, during the completion of the proceedings

it is also made available to users information about the work in question through

electronic signalling panels, located in the lanes and contigued sublanges to the

trolle where the intervention decorates.

Article 6.

Information on claims

During the realization of the works referred to in Article 2, the dealership provides

weekly to the national road information service updated data

regarding the claims registered in the sections in the works, with a view to identification and

publicising the places of greater dangerousness and the adoption of the appropriate measures to the

level of road prevention and safety.

Article 7.

Assistance for users

Assistance to motorway users, provided for in the terms of the contracts of

concession, is in any case secured by the concessionaire for free of charge,

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including the provision of the service of assistance and sanitary and mechanical aid, in the sections

in which the works referred to in Article 2 are carried out.

Article 8.

Prior information to Municipalities

1-For the realization of the prior study and its respective environmental impact study

referring to the interventions provided for in Article 2, the opinions will be taken into account

issued by the Municipal Chambers of the municipalities involved, as well as the respective

Metropolitan authorities and Metropolitan Transportation Authorities, if

they find in office, including with regard to the limits of the area of intervention,

infrastructure and services affected, changes and conditioners in the viaria network and

mobility.

2-Immediately after the definition of the program of works and schedule of the

implementation of the work, the Ministry responsible for the tutelage of public works and the sector

road shall inform the entities referred to in the preceding paragraph on the

scheduled intervention, with a view to the good collaboration in the adoption of the measures

appropriate to traffic planning in the municipal road network and in the respective accesses

to motorway or road crossing.

Article 9.

Definition and evaluation of procedures

Within the ninety days after the publication of this Law, the Government approves the

National Regulation of Operation and Maintenance Procedures, establishing

common criteria and standards, to be observed on all highways of PRN 2000, to

effects of compliance and qualitative evaluation, including those referring to the implementation

of maintenance, conservation and increase in the number of tracks, as well as

punctual and / or emergency interventions.

Article 10.

Amendment of concessions

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As a result of the provisions of the preceding Articles, the Government shall adopt, within the period of

thirty days after the publication of this Law, the necessary measures for the

renegotiation and amendment of the respective concession contracts and their Bases

currently in force and will take the necessary budgetary arrangements for its implementation.

Article 11.

Motorways managed by the State

In cases where the motorway is managed by the State, not being the subject of contract

of concession, the Ministry responsible for the tutelage of public works and road sector

guarantees the implementation of the necessary measures to comply with the provisions of the present

Law.

Article 12.

Entry into force

1-A This Law shall come into force on the day following that of its publication.

2-Constituting exception to the previous number the standards with budgetary incidence, the

which come into force with the State Budget Act following the publication of the

present Law.

Assembly of the Republic, July 25, 2005.

The Deputies of the Parliamentary Group of the CFP,