Underwater Road Tunnel Salamina island - Perama

Last updated
Underwater Road Tunnel Salamina island - Perama
Salamina Map.png
Map of the island of Salamis. The current ferry line to/from Perama can be seen in the north-east (blue intermittent line)
Overview
Location Attica Region, Greece
StatusPlanned (Stage B of the tender)
Crosses Saronic Gulf
Start Perama
End Salamis Island

The Underwater Road Tunnel Salamina island - Perama is a planned sub-sea road tunnel in the Attica region of Greece, which will provide a direct road link between the island of Salamis of Islands Regional unit in the Saronic Gulf and the port city of Perama in Piraeus Regional Unit, on the east coast of the Saronic Gulf. In whole, the project includes the construction of an underwater road tunnel about 1 km long, the construction of a new road section from Schistos Avenue to the tunnel's entrance in Perama, as well as two new interchanges connecting the adjacent road network in Salamis and Perama.

Contents

The project has been tendered through the procedure of Competitive Dialogue and is currently at the second stage (stage B) of the tender from which the contractor (concessionaire) will be selected. Three contenders currently participate in the tender: Metka, Terna and a consortium between Vinci Concessions – Vinci Highways – Aktor Concessions. Its cost is estimated at €450 million and its construction period at around four years. When completed, the total length of the new road axis will be about 17 km and the undersea link will significantly reduce the travel time between Salamis and the mainland from about 40 minutes to just 4 minutes. [1] [2] [3]

History

The first plans for an underwater road link between Salamis Island and the Greek mainland took place more than 20 years ago and the first tender was planned under the ministry of Stefanos Manos in the early 1990s. In October 1995 the project was cancelled by decision of Costas Laliotis and since then the planning of a new road link has been constantly coming to the fore but there has been no consensus for its construction, mainly due to opposition from the joint ventures that operate the ferry services. [4] [5] The Paloukia (at Salamis) - Perama ferry line is the busiest one in Greece in terms of traffic volume, handling 9.8 million passengers and 4 million vehicles as of 2009. [2]

In 2012, the then Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Makis Voridis, decided to hold a tender to award the concession of the contract, but the process was continuously extended. After numerous successive extensions, the tender finally began and the project was bidded out on March 15, 2016, after the completion of the Expression of Interest (EoI) phase. [6] [7] The project has been tendered through the procedure of Competitive Dialogue in which opinions, proposals and comments are submitted by the participants, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the local administrative bodies. [2] [8]

On November 17, 2016, stage B of the tender began. The three groups that currently participate in this phase are: Metka, Terna and the consortium between Vinci Concessions - Vinci Highways - Aktor Concessions. [3]

On January 30, 2018, the Greek Council of State rejected all the allegations made by the Salamis Environmental Group "PERIVOS" as unfounded. The group had appealed to the council and asked for the decision by the Minister of Infrastructure to hold the tender to be annulled as unconstitutional and illegal. [9]

In September 2018, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project began. By the spring of 2020, the Competitive Dialogue procedure had been completed and approval had been obtained by the Archaeological Documentation Service and the Hellenic Navy General Staff. The next step is the completion of the EIA and its approval by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, and finally the start of the third and final stage of the tender, which is the evaluation of the technical and financial bids and the selection of the contractor (concessionaire) of the project. [5] [1]

Description

The location of the uninhabited island of Agios Georgios. The underwater tunnel will emerge here and the road will then head further west to Salamis Agios Georgios Salamina.jpg
The location of the uninhabited island of Agios Georgios. The underwater tunnel will emerge here and the road will then head further west to Salamis

The main project concerns the construction of an underwater road tunnel based on the seabed, with 2 lanes in each direction and with a length of about 400 meters (total length of about 1.1 km including the access roads in both sides), which will start from a new interchange in Perama and end in another interchange on the eastern side of the Salamis Island, in its main port of Paloukia. The project also includes the construction of new road sections bypassing the towns of Perama and Salamina. [5] [10] In particular, a new road section will be constructed near the existing Schistos-Skaramagkas Avenue and will extend up to the port of Perama on the Saronic Gulf's eastern coast, where an interchange will be constructed connecting the adjacent road network. From there, the road will gradually submerge beneath the sea with the construction of the underwater road tunnel. The tunnel will then emerge on the small uninhabited island of Agios Georgios and the road will proceed up to the entrance of the Salamis Naval Base in the northeastern part of Salamis Island. In the village of Paloukia, a new junction will be constructed and the road will then proceed north of Paloukia, up to another interchange that will be constructed north of the town of Salamina, connecting all the adjacent roads. The total length of the new road axis that will be constructed will be about 17 kilometres (11 mi). [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highways in Greece</span>

The National Roads and Motorways in Greece constitute the main road network of the country. These two types of roads are distinct in terms of their construction specifications. Their main difference is that motorways adhere to higher quality construction standards than National Roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorway 1 (Greece)</span> Motorway in Greece

Motorway 1 (code: A1, also known as Athens-Thessaloniki-EvzonoiMotorway, and previously as Patras-Athens-Thessaloniki-EvzonoiMotorway the 2nd longest motorway in Greece with a length of 550 km. It is the principal north–south road connection in Greece, connecting the country's capital Athens with the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia, as well as the country's second largest city, Thessaloniki. It starts from Neo Faliro in Attica and continues north to reach the Evzonoi border station, on the Greek border with North Macedonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thessaloniki Metro</span> A metro system in Thessaloniki, Greece.

The Thessaloniki Metro is an underground rapid-transit system under construction in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Estimates for the cost of the megaproject are €1.62 billion ($1.83 billion) for the main line and €640 million ($723 million) for the Kalamaria extension, for a total of €2.26 billion ($2.55 billion). The project is primarily funded with loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and funds from the Greek government. Construction by a Greek-Italian consortium is overseen by Elliniko Metro S.A., the Greek state-owned company which oversaw construction of the Athens Metro and Athens Tram.

An underwater tunnel is a tunnel which is partly or wholly constructed under the sea or a river. They are often used where building a bridge or operating a ferry link is unviable, or to provide competition or relief for existing bridges or ferry links. While short tunnels are often road tunnels which may admit motorized traffic, unmotorized traffic or both, concerns with ventilation lead to the longest tunnels being electrified rail tunnels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorway 5 (Greece)</span> Controlled-access highway

The Greek Motorway 5 is a motorway in Greece. The motorway, commonly referred to as Ionia Odos or Ionia Motorway, starts at Ioannina and it follows the western coastline of mainland Greece down to the Gulf of Corinth. At Rio, it crosses the gulf via the Rio–Antirrio bridge and is connected with the A8 Motorway at an interchange near Patras. The future, currently under construction, Patras - Pyrgos motorway is typically part of the A5 Motorway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salamis Naval Base</span>

The Salamis Naval Base is the largest naval base of the Hellenic Navy. It is located in the northeastern part of Salamis Island, Greece and in Amphiali and Skaramangas. It is close to the major population centre of Athens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorway 8 (Greece)</span> Motorway in Greece

The Greek Motorway 8, is a motorway in Greece. Part of the Olympia Odos network, the motorway connects Athens with Patras in southwestern Greece, spanning a total of 215 km (134 mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Greece Motorway</span> Motorway in Greece

Motorway 3 (A3), or the Central Greecemotorway is a partially completed motorway in Greece. It will lead from the Motorway 1 near Lamia to the Motorway 2 near Grevena, passing Karditsa, Trikala and Kalambaka. It will carry the European route E65.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agia Sophia Stadium</span> Stadium in Nea Filadelfeia, Greece

The Agia Sophia Stadium, also known as OPAP Arena for sponsorship reasons and as AEK Arena for UEFA competitions, is the home stadium of AEK Athens. With an all-seater capacity of 32,500, it is the third largest football stadium overall in Greece. It is located in Nea Filadelfeia, a northwestern suburb of Athens, Greece. The new arena was built on the site of the former Nikos Goumas Stadium stadium. The construction of the arena was completed in October 2022. Agia Sophia Stadium is the newest stadium built in Greece.

The Famagusta derby refers to the Famagusta's local derby, football matches played between Anorthosis Famagusta and Nea Salamis Famagusta. It is one of the rivalries of Cypriot football. The rivalry is also indicative of social, cultural and political differences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Line 1 (Thessaloniki Metro)</span>

Line 1 of the Thessaloniki Metro, also known as the Base Project, is a deep-level underground rapid transit line in Thessaloniki, Greece, connecting N. Sid. Stathmos in the west with Nea Elvetia in the east, before continuing on to the Pylaia depot. The line was set to open in 2023. Discovery of historical sites in 2019 halted work for 28 months while excavations took place. Of the line's 13 stations, 11 are also stops for Thessaloniki Metro's Line 2, as they will share tunnels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Line 2 (Thessaloniki Metro)</span>

Line 2 of the Thessaloniki Metro, also known as the Kalamaria Extension, is a deep-level underground rapid transit line in Thessaloniki, Greece, connecting N. Sid. Stathmos in the west with Mikra in the south-east. The section of the line between Neos Sidirodromikos Stathmos and 25 Martiou stations is set to open in 2023, with the rest of the line becoming operational in 2024. Of the line's 16 stations, 11 are also stops for Thessaloniki Metro's Line 1, as they will share tunnels.

In the run-up to the May 2023 Greek legislative election, various organizations carry out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Greece during the term of the 18th Hellenic Parliament. Results of such polls are displayed in this article. The date range for these opinion polls is from the previous legislative election, held on 7 July 2019, to the day the next election was held, on 21 May 2023.

The 2018–19 season was Pafos's 5th year in existence, and second season in the Cypriot First Division.

Anafi Municipal Airport is an airport currently under construction in the island of Anafi, Greece, in the Cyclades islands region. Located approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) west of the island principal town, the Greek government approved its construction on 2004. It is expected to be finished by the end of 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 Καραγιάννης, Νίκος (2020-05-12). "Design for Salamina island undersea road tunnel, finalized". Ypodomes.com (in Greek). Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  2. 1 2 3 "Undersea Road Tunnel Salamina island - Perama". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  3. 1 2 "Υποθαλάσσια Ζεύξη Σαλαμίνας-Περάματος: Ξεκινά επίσημα η Β'φάση του διαγωνισμού - ypodomes.com". 2016-11-21. Archived from the original on 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  4. "Υποθαλάσσια Ζεύξη Σαλαμίνας: Το έργο φέρνει αντιπαραθέσεις". 2015-04-14. Archived from the original on 2015-04-14. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Αυτή είναι η τελική χάραξη για την Υποθαλάσσια Ζεύξη Σαλαμίνας-Περάματος, στα 450 εκατ. ευρώ το κόστος". Ypodomes.com (in Greek). 2020-05-11. Archived from the original on 2020-05-13. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  6. "Υποθαλάσσια Σαλαμίνας: Μετά από 10 χρόνια δημοπρατήθηκε νέο έργο παραχώρησης". 2016-05-05. Archived from the original on 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  7. "8η παράταση για την Υποθαλάσσια Ζεύξη Σαλαμίνας-Περάματος". 2015-03-28. Archived from the original on 2015-03-28. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  8. "Δημοπρατήθηκε η Υποθαλάσσια Σαλαμίνας: ΑΚΤΩΡ, ΤΕΡΝΑ και ΜΕΤΚΑ οι υποψήφιοι". 2016-05-31. Archived from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  9. ""Πράσινο φως" από το ΣτΕ για την υποθαλάσσια σήραγγα Πέραμα -Σαλαμίνα". ProtoThema (in Greek). 2018-01-30. Archived from the original on 2018-03-06. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  10. "Υποθαλάσσια Ζεύξη Σαλαμίνας: 17,5 χλμ το μήκος, μέχρι 2 Απριλίου η εκδήλωση ενδιαφέροντος". 2015-04-14. Archived from the original on 2015-04-14. Retrieved 2020-05-13.