A rua principal está em obras, então precisamos encontrar outra.

to be

Breakdown of A rua principal está em obras, então precisamos encontrar outra.

• em: in
• precisar: to need
• encontrar: to find

Questions & Answers about A rua principal está em obras, então precisamos encontrar outra.

Why is the phrase em obras used here instead of em construção?

Both expressions are correct, but they have slightly different nuances:

• em obras (literally “in works”) is the most idiomatic way to say “under construction” in Brazilian Portuguese when referring to streets, buildings, bridges, etc.
• em construção focuses strictly on the act of building something from scratch (e.g. “a casa está em construção”).
  Here, because we’re talking about roadworks/repairs on a street, em obras sounds more natural.

Why is obras plural in em obras?

In Portuguese, obras refers collectively to all the individual tasks, teams and equipment involved in the construction or repair process. Even if it’s just one project, we still use the plural obras to emphasize it’s a set of works, not a single “construction.”

What does então mean here, and can I use por isso instead?

• então = “so” or “therefore,” used to connect cause and effect informally.
• por isso = “because of that,” slightly more formal or emphatic.
  You can say both: • …está em obras, então precisamos…
  • …está em obras, por isso precisamos…
  They’re interchangeable, but então is more common in spoken Brazilian Portuguese.