The tunnel that connects Avenidas da Virgínia and Brasília to the Alcântara-Mar train station has remained in disrepair for about a decade, with walls full of graffiti, uneven and wet pavements, bad smells, escalators out of service and an old cafe closed due to the lack of “minimum safety and hygiene conditions” in the underpass.

The situation even led the Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, in the first quarter of the year, to urge the Lisbon City Council to take urgent measures to requalify the Alcântara underground pedestrian crossing, in order to ensure accessibility conditions to the train station.

In a letter addressed to the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (PSD), the provider highlights that the recommendation “was formulated after receiving numerous complaints about the lack of accessibility and the poor health, safety and hygiene conditions of the underground pedestrian passage which serves the Alcântara-Mar train station”.

For now, the Muro Festival has decided to mark “the start of the rehabilitation work planned for the Alcântara tunnel”, through the Urban Art Gallery (GAU), which “invited artists to give a new face to the walls of this tunnel, in a work that allowed the general cleaning of the space”, announced the municipality on a social network.

“The recovery plan also includes, in a 2nd phase, the construction of access ramps and replacement of stairs with elevators to facilitate mobility, as well as the rehabilitation of spaces and stores”, adds the note.