Directions 
Punto intermedio
This stop gives us an opportunity to focus on the roads and bridges that create connections in this area, and on the work that has been needed in order to improve mobility in the region.
The N-120 is the highway that connects the city of Ourense with Monforte de Lemos, where it then continues towards Quiroga and Valdeorras. Before the newer motorways were constructed, this was also the main road connecting Vigo with Ourense and Ourense with León, which gave the N‑120 major importance as part of the road connections in the north of Spain.
The original road, now labelled as the N-120a, has an abundance of curves in its section between Pantón and Os Peares, to accommodate the contours of the sloping terrain. However, at the end of the 1990s a major construction project was finally undertaken to improve safety and reduce travel times.
This new highway would require construction of several highly elevated viaducts, as a way to cross over some of the difficult topography and create a road with fewer curves. We can see some of these viaducts on the other shore of the Miño River, although we will have to wait until we arrive in Os Peares to see the highest and longest one.
Another challenge that had to be overcome when creating this road system was the need to accommodate a form of dispersed settlement, where people lived in small villages and had to reach the larger towns and cities. For this reason, there was also a need to build access links to the N‑120 in locations such as Guítara, Bazal, and Os Peares.
