Roads / Estradas

Relative to the year in which the first edition of this work was published, we stated with complete truth that the roads in Madeira were still very backward. Most of the island's roads were not suitable for certain comfortable and fast means of transportation, due to their steepness and poor paving, and others, although flatter, were nothing more than simple paths, where only pedestrians or mules could pass. In recent years, the General Assembly of the district has sought to remedy this problem by improving certain communication routes and establishing others between different locations. However, there is still much to be done to provide this island with a good network of roads, and it is not an exaggeration to say that in many points along the northern and southern coasts, transportation is in the same state as it was in the time of the landowners (1922).

The communication routes in Madeira were, without a doubt, the worst in our country, due to various causes, especially the incredibly rugged terrain and other inevitable environmental conditions. Most of them did not deserve the name of roads, as they were generally narrow paths on a difficult and arduous terrain, overlooking unfathomable abysses and skirting the flanks of high mountains, almost always offering travelers the most serious inconveniences and dangers. Until the year 1901, when administrative autonomy was granted to this district, there were only nine kilometers of a good road that connected the city of Funchal to the town of Câmara de Lobos. The construction of a large network of roads began then and continues to this day, which within a few years will make it easy to travel across the entire island at an accelerated pace and visit its main locations quickly and comfortably.

In addition to its own revenues, the General Assembly of the District was authorized by the decree of July 12, 1912 to contract a loan exclusively for the construction of roads. The decree of June 25, 1935 determined the arrival of a technical mission to this archipelago to study and propose the necessary measures for the execution of the road network, and the decree of April 14, 1938 approved the plan presented by this study commission, proceeding diligently with the execution of the respective construction works.

Due to its great importance and the necessary clarification for the grand project of completing our road network, we will transcribe some articles from the decree we mentioned:

-Article 1. The work plan for the execution of the complementary road network of the island of Madeira, in the total amount of 44,000,000$, is as shown on the map attached to this decree. Article 2. The works related to this plan should be carried out in three phases, namely: a) The first, in the amount of 15,000,000$, should be executed within a period of three years, corresponding to an annual allocation of 5,000,000$; b) The other two phases, in the total amount of 29,000,000$, should be carried out in periods of five years each, corresponding to an annual allocation of 3,000,000$ in the first nine years and 2,000,000$ in the last year. Article 3. The works in this plan will be co-financed by the Government in the proportion of 75 percent of their cost, with the remaining 25 percent being the responsibility of the Autonomous General Assembly of the Funchal district. Sole paragraph. The Government may authorize this General Assembly to contract a loan to meet its obligations.

The old royal roads were renamed national roads after the establishment of the Republic in the country, the most important being those numbered 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 on the respective district road map, either due to their length or because they establish connections between the main locations on the island. The following maps indicate the direction of these roads, as well as the distances between the main sites or villages they pass through:

National Road No. 23

Extremes and intermediate points	Kilometers
From Funchal (Sé) to Câmara de Lobos (Church)	9,958
From Câmara de Lobos to Quinta Grande (Church)	4,998

Section	Distance (meters)
From Quinta Grande to Campanário (junction of the road to the Church)	3,069
From Campanário to Ribeira Brava (junction of the Cais-Igreja branch)	4,684
From Ribeira Brava to Tabua (Corujeira)	1,291
From Tabua to Ponta do Sol (wharf)	3,000
From Ponta do Sol to Madalena (church)	4,560
From Madalena to Arco da Calheta (Fajã do Mar)	1,440
From Arco da Calheta to Calheta (Church)	4,840
From Calheta to Estreito (junction of the road to the Church)	3,680
From Estreito to Prazeres (junction of the Paúl branch)	3,880
From Prazeres to Fajã da Ovelha (junction of the Paul branch)	6,624
From Fajã da Ovelha to Ponta do Pargo (junction of the Pesqueiro branch)	5,701
From Ponta do Pargo to Achadas (Church)	9,325
From Achadas to Porto Moniz (Church)	7,720
From Porto Moniz to Ribeira da Janela (Church)	3,880
From Ribeira da Janela to Seixal (Church)	7,695
From Seixal to S. Vicente (Church)	8,033
From S. Vicente to Ponta Delgada (junction of the port branch)	7,038
From Ponta Delgada to Boa Ventura (junction of road no. 27)	2,569
From Boa Ventura to Arco de S. Jorge (Church)	2,975
From Arco de S.Jorge to S.Jorge (Church)	6,760
From S. Jorge to Sant'Ana (church)	6,380
From Sant'Ana to Faial (church)	4,720
From Faial to S. Roque do Faial (Church)	2,260
From S. Roque to Porto da Cruz (Church)	2,700
From Porto da Cruz to Machico (junction of the wharf branch)	11,000
From Machico to Santa Cruz (town)	8,220
From Santa Cruz to Porto Novo	4,740
From Porto Novo to Caniço (junction of the Ponta da Oliveira branch)	3,440
From Caniço to S. Gonçalo (junction of the church road)	5,520
From S. Gonçalo to Funchal (Sé)	3,480
Total length of the road	166,180

National Road No. 24

Section	Kilometers
From Funchal (Carmo) to Monte (church)	3,217
From Monte to Poiso	6,783
From Poiso to Ribeiro Frio	4,240
From Ribeiro Frio to Cruzinha	4,760
From Cruzinha to Sant'Ana	9,160
Total length of the road	28,160

National Road No. 25

Section	Kilometers
From Funchal (Ponte de S. João) to S.Martinho (Church)	3,000
From S. Martinho to Estreito de Câmara de Lobos (Church)	6,000
From Estreito de Câmara de Lobos to the junction of the road to Jardim da Serra	3,520
From the junction to Cumeada de S. Vicente	14,080
From Cumeada to Rosário	4,150
From Rosário to S. Vicente (Church)	4,200
Total length of the road	34,950

National Road No. 26

Section	Kilometers
From Ribeira Brava (bridge) to Serra de Água (junction of the road to the Church)	7,520
From Serra de Água to Cumeada de S.Vicente	5,540
Total length of the road	13,060

National Road No. 27

Section	Kilometers
From Funchal (Maravilhas) to Santo Antonio (Church)	2,495
From Santo Antonio to the junction of the Church road in Curral	11,350
From Curral to Boaventura (Church)	19,085
From Boaventura to the junction of Road No. 23	0,537
Total length of the road	33,467

##National Road No. 28

Section	Kilometers
Information not available

Section	Kilometers
From Ponta do Sol to Cruzinhas	5.000
From Cruzinhas to Cumeada (near Paul)	2.350
From Cumeada to Casas do Paúl	2.650
From Casas do Paúl to Estanquinhos	3.000
From Estanquinhos to Caramujo	1.450
From Caramujo to Feiteiras (S. Vicente)	4.825
Total length of this road	19.275

These roads, which generally have poor road surfaces and sometimes pose a danger to pedestrians, as previously mentioned, have lost their former importance and are no longer as frequently traveled in the areas where new and recent roads have replaced them with greater advantage. However, they continue to provide excellent services as means of communication between various localities and are the true local paths for the inhabitants who have their homes in the vicinity of these same roads. They should not be abandoned, deserving continuous repairs for their preservation and improvement.

As mentioned above, it was after the granting of administrative autonomy in 1901 that the construction of the important road network began and is still ongoing, extending throughout the island, already allowing quick and convenient visits to more than twenty rural parishes. It is to be expected that in a few years, easy communications can be established between all the parishes of Madeira. There is no official measurement of the new roads built, but we have managed to obtain some data, which provide us with a very approximate estimate of their length, which we present below.

Road on the east side

Section	Kilometers
From Funchal to Caniço	9.500
From Caniço to Gaula	6.000
From Gaula to Santa Cruz	3.500
From Santa Cruz to Machico	7.000
From Machico to Portela	7.000

Road on the west side

Section	Kilometers
From Funchal to Câmara de Lobos	9,000
Câmara de Lobos to Estreito de Câmara de Lobos	4.500
From Estreito to Quinta Grande	7.000
From Quinta Grande to Campanário	4.000
From Campanário to Ribeira Brava	6.000
From Ribeira Brava to Tabua	3.500
From Tabua to Ponta do Sol	5.500
From Ponta do Sol to Canhas	2.500
From Canhas to Arco da Calheta (Loreto)	9.000
From Loreto to Calheta (Estrela)	7.000
From Estrela to Estreito da Calheta	3.400
From Estreito da Calheta to Prazeres	7.000
From Prazeres to Fajã da Ovelha (Raposeira)	4.000

From Ribeira Brava to Ponta Delgada

Section	Kilometers
From Ribeira Brava to Serra de Água	8.000
From Serra de Água to Encumeada	15.000
From Encumeada to S. Vicente	14.000
From S. Vicente to Ponta Delgada	8.000

From Funchal to Ribeiro Frio

Section	Kilometers
From Funchal to Monte	6.000
From Monte to Poiso	15.500
From Poiso to Ribeiro Frio	20.000