The road will also be closed in Santa Comba Dão and continuously between Wednesday, 4 March, and Friday, 6 March, between Tondela and Viseu, said Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP).

In a press release sent to the Lusa news agency, IP informed that, starting at 9 pm on 2 March, and at 6 am on Tuesday, 3 March, there will be a total road closure between the Vila Cova/Treixedo junction, in Santa Comba Dão, and the Tondela Sul junction.

"This nighttime closure is necessary for roadwork, considering the duplication being carried out on the IP3 Coimbra/Viseu, on the Santa Comba Dão/Viseu section," said a source from IP.

From 9 pm on Wednesday, there will be an uninterrupted closure until Friday morning between the São Miguel de Outeiro junction in Tondela and the Vila Chã de Sá junction in Viseu.

"This prolonged closure has to be done to prepare the road for a restriction that will be maintained for about eight months.”

The alternative to the IP3 is the National Road 2 (EN2).

Last week, the IP3 also suffered nighttime closures to prepare and manage the road between the Tondela Sul and Canas de Santa Maria junctions, which, since Friday, has had "only one lane in each direction for traffic".

"Overtaking is prohibited, and maximum speed limits have been reduced. It is estimated that this restriction will last about six months."

With an investment of approximately €103 million, the project to duplicate and upgrade the IP3 section between Santa Comba Dão and Viseu includes duplicating the current road platform over 27.5 kilometres.