Infrastructure Ministry’s decision has become official, concerning the change of the technical solution for Venizelou Station of Thessaloniki Metro, which has been under construction for 13.5 years, according to information of ypodomes.com.
The site reports that on November 13, Attiko Metro approved the temporary removal and repositioning (at a later stage) of antiquities found on-site, for the completion of the station.
This decision enables the construction to proceed, with the «assistance» of an additional contract. Another move made by Attiko Metro was to proceed with a contract to further investigate the effects that might be caused during construction, by selective preservation of antiquities, and the potential risks during the excavation works and the installation of temporary support.
The target is that within three months following the signing of the contract, that is on February 13 2020, for the investigation to be completed and then the Attiko Metro administration to finalize its decision on the construction method and order the contractor accordingly.
It is reminded that the change in the construction method was announced last September by the Greek Prime Minister during Thessaloniki International Fair 2019.
The target date for the operation of the Metro has already been postponed for April 2023, while Kalamaria Branch is also expected to be commissioned in the same year.
On the construction site, based on the contractor’s sources, even if there wasn’t the setback at Venizelos station, the Main Line could not operate before the end of 2022.
The progress of the works at Venizelou Station, once they commence in 2020, will essentially decide whether the city’s Metro project will finally be operational in April 2023, nearly 17 years after the beginning of the construction phase.
In terms of construction after several months of disruption, the project seems to be finding a satisfying pace. The next steps are the arrival of more trains and the launch of test runs in the first quarter of 2020.
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Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Konstantinos Stampoulis
