2023-12-22 09:23:10
Editorial RoomCurrent Affairs
The construction of an entrance-exit semi-interchange at the “Driskos” location of Egnatia Odos is being pulled out of the drawer by the governor of Epirus, Alexandros Kahrimanis, showing a willingness for the Region of Epirus to undertake what “Egnatia Odos SA” has refused to do for a number of years, citing technical difficulties and high cost.
Five years after the last serious discussion on the matter, Mr. Kahrimanis has in his hands a design proposal, based on which an entrance-exit can be built between the “Lorenzos Mavilis” tunnel and the Arachthos bridge, in the traffic flow towards Ioannina , at a relatively low cost compared to what “Egnatia Odos SA” estimated in the past. The aim of the Region of Epirus is to secure as soon as possible the “green light” from “Egnatia Odos AE” to mature the study and proceed with the construction procedures of the project, since, if the motorway concession contract is signed, the data may change. It is noted that at a nearby point there is an exit from Egnatia on the traffic flow towards Thessaloniki, so the only thing that will be missing will be an entry node on the flow towards Thessaloniki, which may be done in the future and not have so many difficulties.
The discussion on the construction of a junction at the “Driskos” location dates back almost to the construction of the Egnatia Road, as the issue of an exit, which will serve the northwest side of the basin and traffic to Albania, was immediately raised then. In fact, during the time of the Municipality of Perama, i.e. before 2010, there was a gathering of residents of the area at the spot, while the then mayor Michalis Kassis continued to pursue the issue as a PASOK MP for Ioannina.
However, both his questions and those that followed, always met with strong resistance from “Egnatia Odos SA”. Among the latter, who had… eaten a door as popularly called by the company, was in 2018 the current President of the Hellenic Parliament, Kostas Tassoulas, when he filed a report to the then Minister of Infrastructure, Christos Spirtzis. In a document sent to him by “Egnatia Odos SA”, it was stated that the construction of the junction is not considered advisable, due to construction difficulties, which are causing costs to skyrocket. In essence, the document repeats what was mentioned in an earlier assessment (from 2010) of a committee of experts for the construction of new junctions on Egnatia Odos. As mentioned, the area is aquifer and there have been problems of landslides in the past, while in addition the height difference between the old national road and Egnatia is about ten meters, which creates serious technical problems. “According to the geotechnical conditions and given that the work that will be required is particularly difficult, with large trenches from 12 m to 36 m, which due to the steep slopes will have to be properly supported and which will probably exceed the generally accepted environmental conditions, the construction of the branches of the traffic intervention in question will require soil-geotechnical support studies, which will probably significantly increase the construction cost (estimated at more than 2 million euros)”, it was noted.
The negative attitude of “Egnatia Odos SA” over time was also related to the fact that at a distance of about 4 km there is the uneven junction of Zagori, through which the old national road is connected to Egnatia. “The traffic data of the area is particularly low to justify two junctions in such a short distance. After all, the corresponding distance through the existing Ioannina-Trikala national road of the two junctions is approximately 6 km with particularly low loads”, it was mentioned and opposed to the improvement of the section of the old national road from the uneven Arachthos junction to the Baldoumas bridge, so that lower cost to serve the needs of the region.
The improvement of the section of the old Ioannina-Trikala national road, from the settlement of Baldoumas to the uneven junction of Zagori on the Egnatia Road, took place in the following years, however, it still did not change the traffic map of the area, as few choose the exit at the junction of Zagori. Something, of course, that could possibly change, in the event that the road passes to a private person and the cost of tolls at the Drosochori station increases.
The construction of a semi-interchange at the “Driskos” location will certainly also require an improvement on the old Ioannina – Trikala highway from Balduma to the Amphithea interchange, which presents several problems.
Finally, if the construction of the semi-interchange proceeds, a second plan to connect Egnatia Road with the northwestern part of the basin, which was a proposal of the Epirus Department of the TEE and provided for the connection to the entrance of the Driscos tunnel with the construction of a road parallel to the mountain mass.
#takes #node #Drisco