The construction of a new underwater tunnel in Greece is in full swing

A large-scale undersea project is being prepared to connect the Greek mainland to the island of Lefkada, which suffers particularly from traffic congestion during the summer months.

A new decisive step in the implementation of the project took place yesterday, February 9, after the approval of a technical consultant who will assist the Directorate of Transport Infrastructure in preparing and conducting a tender for the award of a construction contract.

As a reminder, Lefkada Subsea Link is high on the agenda of the government, and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Kostas Karamanlis awarded it status of “national level project”. On the basis of an old tender (concession agreement) that did not take place, a 3 km section of the road will be built, including an underwater tunnel with a length of about 1.1 km, of which 450 m is a closed section, and 310 and 270 m is an entrance and departure, respectively.

The proposed method for constructing an underwater tunnel was based on the construction of a tunnel on land, with excavation and backfilling (burrowing). Today, Central Greece is connected to Lefkada by a metal pontoon bridge.

There are often long queues of vehicles in this section, especially during the summer months, which causes great inconvenience to travelers. The problem also arises on the roads of the island due to the large number of vehicles arriving from mainland Greece. Lefkada Subsea Link will solve the above problems by improving the level of service for residents and visitors of Lefkada (and Greece in general). After the creation of the underwater tunnel, fast and safe travel will be ensured, and the tourism product will be significantly upgraded.

Source link