Portofino, after the catastrophic coastal storm

As you probably know, in October 2018 a very strong coastal storm has literally washed away from the surface of the earth a large portion of the only road that leads to Portofino. The result was that the only way to get to that charming town was to reach it by sea. After that disaster, I was afraid that it would become like Sentiero Azzurro in Cinque Terre (more here). Sentiero Azzurro is the trail that leads through all the villages and which due to landslides has been closed since 2011 and it is not sure when it will be reopened.

However, (fortunately) I was wrong! And the reconstruction of the road to Portofino has been already started!

The road that was destroyed

The section that was destroyed is about 150 m of the street between Santa Margherita Ligure and Paraggi.

Current state

[UPDATE]

24/01/2020

The road is opened in both directions from summer 2019. Actually, when I went there, there were some works on the road’s pavement and there was a traffic light that regulated traffic. However, for the next, summer season, the pavement will be ready. Also, the footpath is completely refurbished. So in few words, the situation returned to be normal. Hopefully forever 🙂

 

06/04/2019

The first line of road 227 is officially reopened. For tourists that want to pass it through on foot, by car o by bus. The road is opened 24 hours a day.

13/03/2019

I have been again in Portofino on the 12th March and I must admit that the work is moving on very fast! There is no footbridge anymore. The first line of the road is actually finished and almost ready to be opened (!). It means that the works are very on time.

An important remark, the work is still in progress so the road is not opened yet. The road opening hours have changed from the last post. Now it is possible to use the road from Monday to Saturday from 12.00pm-1.15pm and from 5.30pm-8.00am. Sundays it is opened 24 hours a day. Almost surely, the first line of the road will be opened for cars before Easter 2019! Stay tuned!

25/01/2019

Work on rebuilding began a few weeks after the storm that destroyed the road. They started by checking the condition and stability of the area. Then started with the construction of a footbridge and with the first works on rebuilding the entire road. Currently, on January 2019 the temporary footbridge has been completed and can be used! An important remark, on weekdays, is open from 12.15 pm – 1.45 pm and from 5.00pm – 8.00 am . Then you can easily walk the entire section on foot. What’s more, during the week there are very few people, so you can do it in complete peace.

On weekends the footbridge is open 24 hours a day and you can use it as much as you like. A remark: if the weather is beautiful, then there are a lot of people. However, as I mentioned before, the footbridge is about 200 m long and then there is a normal street again, so other walkers will not disturb you 🙂

The opening of the road

Of course, the local authorities are very keen to rebuild the road before the summer season. Thus, at the moment, it is said that at least one lane of the road should be completed before Easter 2019. Seeing the progress that has been done already in January, I think that it is possible 🙂 In this way, the road should be accessible for car traffic and no doubt, the opportunity to reach Portofino by car or bus will be a huge step forward!

The second lane of the road should be completed before the summer season (!). It means that normality should back to Portofino very quickly! In any case, I will write again about the road when there will be further progress in the work! Stay tuned 🙂

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