Discovery of medieval bridge in Porto delays Vila River ‘closure’ by a month and a half

The discovery of a 13th-century bridge at the Porto Metro plant in the Vila River area has delayed the “closure” of that work front by a month and a half, a Metro do Porto spokesman said on Friday.

“During the work on the Vila River, we discovered, at the intersection of Rua Musinho da Silveira and Largo de São Domingos, a medieval bridge from the end of the 13th century, so well preserved that no one expected it,” said Pedro Le Costa Lusa, project manager for the Pink Line (Casa da Música – São Bento) of the Porto Metro.

This is the bridge before the opening of Rua de São João in 1765 and Rua Mouzinho da Silveira in 1875, assuming it was destroyed. This news was published on Friday by the Porto Canal portal.

“In fact, this bridge is so well preserved that the structure of the Vila River itself, built later in the 19th century, was adapted to accommodate the bridge so as not to destroy it,” Pedro Le Costa explained to Luce in detail.

According to the person in charge, “the bridge arch extends approximately three meters, and the deck is approximately 25 square meters, which was still preserved.”

“It was one of the gateways to Porto,” he added.

The discovery meant a delay of about a month and a half for work on that particular site, “although it is not a delay that would impact the project’s timeline” globally, which remains scheduled for completion in late July 2025.

“We were already planning to be in the final stages of the capital fund, and now what we have is [é que] “The last stage, which will close São João Street and which will also allow the Porto City Council to carry out the redevelopment work on Rua de São João Street, will only take place at the end of August,” he explained.

Excavations of the Vila River tunnel were already completed in October 2023 after starting in July 2022 near Largo de São Domingos.

The work is part of the construction of the Pink Line (São Bento – Casa de la Música), which serves as an alternative outlet for the current Vila River, which flows under Musinho da Silveira Street, and also prevents flooding at the future São Bento station, located in Praça da Liberdade.

Asked by Lusa about the overall timeline for the project, Pedro Le Costa acknowledged that it is “undeniable” that the July 2025 deadline is demanding and ambitious, but he also considers it “realistic for today,” even though it depends on the completion of the excavations underground.

“It’s a challenge. It’s an ambitious time frame. We’re all working together with different players. [atores] are involved in achieving this goal,” he stressed.

The Rosa line, with a total cost of 304.7 million euros, will connect to the current Casa da Música and São Bento metro stations, and will also have intermediate stations at Hospital de Santo Antonio and Praça da Galiza.