During ongoing construction of Athens’ Metro Line 4, a 160-meter semicircular tunnel appears to have been accidentally dug up. This has drawn harsh condemnation from the opposition, who raised safety concerns and demanded swift remedial action.
Greek Communist Party (KKE) MP Christos Katsotis revealed the mistake when he asked Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Nikos Tachiaos a pertinent question.
The MP informed Parliament and the minister that there were possible safety hazards for both workers and the general public because the tunnel was excavated beneath Katehaki Avenue, a major thoroughfare that is encircled by public buildings and hospitals.
Katsotis questioned how the consortium constructing Line 4 could have dug 160 meters in the wrong direction without the Transport Ministry or Elliniko Metro, the public corporation that was once known as Attiko Metro and was in charge of the subway system in the Greek capital, noticing.
“How did Elliniko Metro SA, which has assured us that it is supervising the works on a 24-hour, seven-day basis, not realize that the tunnel had been opened for 160 meters, over 6 months?”
“The AVAX-Ghello-Alstom consortium continued excavation despite being aware of the deviation,” he added.
While acknowledging the mistake, Tachiaos played down the safety concerns, stating that there was no imminent threat and that “minor subsidence” on Katehaki Avenue was likely. He also revealed that the consortium had been forced to return to the original designs.
He asserted that the problem was due to a procedural error rather than a structural defect and that it was not anticipated that the error would result in significant structural issues.