Deputy Infrastructure and Transport Minister Nikos Tachiaos yesterday made commitments in Parliament over damage to buildings in Kypseli caused by construction work on Metro Line 4, an issue that has raised serious concern among residents in recent months.
Tachiaos said the tunnel boring machine (TBM) would not resume operations until residents had been informed about how work would restart and it had been ensured that no further damage would be caused, either to the buildings currently above the machine or to those further along its route. He also said that all damage would be fully repaired at the contractor’s expense, as stipulated in the contract.
To assess the damage, Elliniko Metro is entering into an agreement with the Technical Chamber of Greece, which will carry out independent inspections of each building.
On safety, Tachiaos said inspections carried out so far had found no need to evacuate any buildings. Cracks and damage caused by differential settlement have been recorded and are considered repairable. However, some buildings may require structural reinforcement, depending on the findings of the technical reports.
Twenty-three buildings along the 400-metre section already excavated by the TBM have been damaged, according to Efimerida ton Syntakton. The machine has roughly the same distance left to cover before reaching Dikastiria station.
According to Efimerida ton Syntakton, problems in buildings began to be recorded in March, while the TBM has remained idle since May 5. Despite this, in a May 13 written response to New Left MPs regarding a cement slurry leak in April, Elliniko Metro’s management said that work was proceeding according to schedule, even though operations had stopped eight days earlier.
The handling of the issue has also prompted concerns over access to technical data. Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said the municipality had received information on 14 buildings, while residents and technical advisers are calling for full transparency before any work resumes. According to the same report, around 80 residents of buildings along the next section of the route have joined affected residents in signing a formal legal notice.
Source: Efimerida ton Syntakton [1], [2]
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