The project is 2.4 kilometres long and connects the Trofa road-rail interface to the Santana area in Ribeirão, in the municipality of Famalicão.

The opening of this new road to traffic puts an end to decades of demands from mayors, businesspeople and the region's population, who until now only had the EN14 as a link between these municipalities.

Presiding over the inauguration ceremony, the Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, emphasised the strategic importance of the new road for the region. "We're talking about two counties that are absolutely central to production in terms of national gross added value. Famalicão is the third most export-oriented municipality in the country and, therefore, this is essential infrastructure to reduce time, to improve the enjoyment of tradable goods, of the real economy," adding that the country cannot take so many years to realise a project that is "so important and so essential" for the growth of the economy and for "territorial justice".

The Mayor of Famalicão, Mário Passos, considered the moment ‘one of great happiness’ and highlighted the impact of this new connection: "We are materialising a project after a lot of effort and demands from an entire territory. This is a project that has a direct impact on the quality of life of our fellow citizens, but also on the competitiveness of our productive fabric."

The mayor of Trofa, António Azevedo, a city crossed by the EN14 and where the traffic bottleneck is evident, said the same. ‘Anyone who knows the EN14 as we do, at rush hour, it took an hour and a half, two hours to connect Trofa to Famalicão, and this link will greatly improve the connection to our municipalities.’

Approximately 20 kilometres long, the EN14 bypass represents a global investment of approximately 53 million euros, and now connects the municipalities of Famalicão, Trofa and Maia more quickly, in an alternative that promises to relieve traffic, improve accessibility and boost the region's economy.

Mário Passos recalled the need for a new junction on the A7 at Fradelos

At the ceremony to inaugurate the new road, the Mayor of Famalicão, Mário Passos, took the opportunity to remind the government of the need to create a new junction on the A7 motorway in the Fradelos area, to bring it closer to the industrial areas of Fradelos, in the municipality of Famalicão, and Balazar, in the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim. ‘It's a solution that seems obvious to us and that would improve the road network between the A3, this new bypass to the EN 14 and the A7,’ said the mayor.

The Minister for Infrastructure and Housing gave assurances that this solution will be analysed and that a project monitoring committee has already been set up, within a framework that applies to the region and Greater Porto.

"This whole macro-region of the Braga district and the Porto district is going to see a huge investment from an infrastructural point of view. The motorway access nodes are going to be analysed by a commission that is going to revisit all the road concessions, so that we can see what financial volume we have available," said Miguel Pinto Luz.

It should be remembered that this is a need that has long been mentioned by the town councils of Famalicão, Póvoa de Varzim and Barcelos, which would improve accessibility and benefit the growth of one of the municipality's most productive areas, complementing the investment now completed with this new alternative to the EN14.