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Gefyra,
a French-Greek consortium, has started work on a GDR
585bn toll bridge across the Rio-Antirrio strait, at
the western end of the Corinth Gulf. The project presents
considerable technical challenges because of the depth of
the seabed and seismic activity in the area. The bridge will
replace a
20-minute ferry crossing.
As well
as reducing the journey time from norhwestern Greece to Athens,
the new
bridge is expected to bring investment to the Aetolo-Acharnania
region, which is comparatively underdeveloped because of poor
transport links. Financing from the third EU CSF package will
be available for the Ionian highway, upgrading the existing
road from Antirrion to Ioannina and the border with Albania.
The bridge will take seven years to construct and should open
at the end of 2004.
The 2.2
km bridge will be one of the most ambitious civil engineering
projects attempted in Greece. It will be supported on four
hollow concrete pylons sunk 60 m into the seabed, and as high
as 160m above sea level. The deck will consist of prefabricated
sections that will be stabilised by wire cables to provide
a four-lane road.
Technology
developed to construct oil platforms in the North Sea is being
adapted to conditions in the Corinth Gulf. The seabed is being
dredged and will be reinforced with metal pipes. The pylons
will be towed into place and positioned by barges used for
construction of the UK's Severn bridge crossing. GTM Entrepose,
the French civil engineering company, has a majority stake
in the Gefyra consortium that will operate the bridge for
42 years on a build-own-transfer basis.
The other
consortium members are:
- J
& P (Hellas)
- K.I.Sarantopoulos
- Helleniki
Technodomiki
- Volos
Technical Company
- Athina
- Proodeftiki
Construction
is carried out by a separate joint venture controlled by Dumez-GTM,
an affiliate of the French company, and the six Greek contractors.
Traffic
studies indicate that about 7,000 vehicles daily would use
the bridge, compared to about 5,000 using the ferry crossing
at present. But numbers could rise to 20,000 daily during
the summer tourist season.
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