The fall of a historic bridge
At the end of February 2019, two days of torrential rain hit Western Crete, following on a previous storm which had lasted for five days a week earlier, with some areas in the Nomos of Chania recording rainfall of over 1 metre in the month. The Municipality of Platanias was particularly hard hit, suffering extensive damage to its infrastructure. Rainstorms in the Lefka Ori mountains caused unprecedented volumes of water to come down the rivers, which burst their banks, creating extensive flooding, undermining roads and destroying bridges. The extent of the damage was blamed partly on lack of maintenance of the rivers, which had poorly defined courses and were blocked with vegetation and in some places illegal building. Fortunately only one person lost their life throughout the Nomos of Chania.
The most dramatic development took place on 25th February, when the stone bridge over the Keritis river at Alikianos finally succumbed to the rushing waters, despite remedial works undertaken in the previous few days, and the main central span collapsed into the water – an event captured live on television. Built in 1908, when Eleftherios Venizelos was prime minister of the Cretan State, the bridge was considered a historic monument, as well as providing a vital link between the eastern bank of the river and the village of Alikianos. With the bridge down, the main access to and from the village was a 10 km detour on a winding narrow road unsuited to the volume of traffic which it was called upon to carry.
At the same time as the event in Alikianos, a portion of the bridge over the same river downstream at Gerani had also collapsed, blocking the Old National Road, as had a smaller bridge at Patellari, on the road running from the Platanias junction of the VOAK towards Agia. The Army was called upon to provide Bailey bridges to fill the missing spans, but had only two functional ones available. One was used to cover the bridge at Gerani while urgent repairs were carried out, while the other was used at Patellari.
After the repairs at Gerani were completed, it was not until 13th November 2019 that the Bailey bridge used there had been transferred to Alikianos and finally opened to traffic: whereas at Gerani it had simply been slotted into the waiting space, at Alikianos it had been necessary to construct approach roads on both sides of the river, a few hundred metres upstream of the wrecked bridge. In the intervening period local residents had become increasingly restive over the disruption to their daily lives, with the result that a group of locals with access to the necessary materials and machinery banded together, and under cover of darkness on the night of 22nd to 23rd March constructed what is referred to in Greek as an “Irish crossing” – basically a ford, consisting in this case of an earthen causeway with several large concrete sewer pipes buried in the middle to allow free passage of the water.
The new construction was hailed by the residents, and it quickly became used by everyone needing to cross the river, including public service vehicles. Less enthusiastic was the owner of the land which the crossing passed over, who threatened legal action for trespass and destruction of property unless the crossing was closed and the material removed. In this she found a ready ally in the then Regional Governor for Chania Apostolos Voulgarakis, who decried the action as irresponsible and stated that the perpetrators would be prosecuted.
There were some immediate obstacles to this plan. No-one was prepared to identify the perpetrators and the locals were vehemently against any attempt to close the crossing. A patrol car which approached the site was confronted with villagers spoiling for a fight, and the police hastily explained that they were only there to ensure public safety. A modus vivendi was achieved and the crossing was left in place, policed by the locals, who ensured that it was closed during heavy rains in case it should be washed away by the flow of the river. However, the prosecution went ahead and as reported in the Haniotika Nea the case finally came to court this week after more than 5 years – an all too normal interval with Greek justice – with the former president of the community of Alikianos standing proxy for the perpetrators.
Creators of the “Irish crossing” exonerated
Justification – and justice – for the inhabitants of Alikianos who in the spring and summer of 2019, with the Keritis bridge fallen and the State and the Regional Authority unable to produce a solution to the problem of communications between their villages, constructed an “Irish crossing” to get across the river! The Criminal Court of Chania yesterday [8th November] exonerated the then president of the local community of Alikianos who had assumed the responsibility for the construction of the Irish crossing. The charges against him were of dangerous interference with road traffic and degradation of the environment, in collaboration with others.
In her deposition, an engineer of the Regional Unit of Chania stated that an improvised crossing had been constructed by citizens with 1-metre diameter pipes and there was no environmental degradation of the Keritis river. She said specifically that there was “degradation of the water flow but not of the environment” and that during the period in which the crossing was in use there had not been any accident. She noted finally that when the military Bailey bridge – which is still in use – was completed a few months later, the same residents removed the “Irish crossing”.
The President of the court raised the question of who the actual perpetrators were. “The work was not done by the accused on his own, machinery was brought in, there was a contractor, money was collected and paid over,” he said. In reply the deputy mayor of Platanias Stylianos Dimitrogiannakis said that “anxious, active citizens took the decision to construct the crossing”, but added that he did not know the identity of those involved.
“Everyone in the area was served by the work in question,” he said. “Public services including ambulances, police and services of the Regional Authority passed over it. For a distance of 100 metres from one side of the Keritis to the other, to get to Alikianos you had to travel a distance of 10 kilometres either via Fournes and Skines on a road which was dangerous and in poor condition, or via Koufos where the road was also narrow and bad. At that time those roads were dangerous following the bad weather and the heavy rains which had fallen. For days the villages in the area had no water, had no electricity, the inhabitants were in a state of despair from the destruction which had taken place.”
Finally the deputy mayor stressed that the president of the community could not have afforded to pay for the work which was done, while as regards the cost he observed that it was not great, as the pipes which were used were from a previous job.
People were locked in
In his defence, the accused told the court that after the Keritis bridge had collapsed “all the villages of the area were locked in. There was a urgent need [to transport] people who were on dialysis, patients going to the hospital, children to the schools, and products.” He explained that the two alternative routes which offered to the inhabitants were not considered satisfactory, i.e.:
– the route via Koufos and Patellari to Platanias: “The road was not safe. There were constant landslides and two cars could not pass side by side.”
– the route via Fournes and Skines: “The bridge had been damaged and the road in question was narrow and dangerous.”
“I don’t know who constructed the crossing. It was not me. But it was not done out of self-interest. There were public meetings of the area’s residents and it was decided to build the crossing; various contractors were found and they worked together to create it for a communal purpose. It was not done officially nor was I asked for permission, but if they had asked me I would have said ‘Go ahead and do it’,” the former president said.
“From the statements and the documents it is clear that there was no environmental degradation, nor was anyone in danger. I have doubts as to whether the accused participated in the work,” the public prosecutor said, and she requested the defendant’s acquittal on all charges.
(Haniotika Nea, 09/11/24)
Construction of the new bridge
Following the fall of the historic bridge there were calls for it to be rebuilt, and the government announced that the sum of €8 million would be set aside for its restoration. It also made it known that funds would be available to build a brand new bridge over the river alongside the old one. Shortly after the collapse, the association of Albanian building workers in the region announced that they were prepared to contribute their free labour for the rebuilding, although it is not known whether this offer will be taken up. At the beginning of January 2023, the Infrastructure ministry signed a contract for planning studies for the reconstruction of the old bridge, with a budget of €800,000. The only visible action to date is that the footing of the part which still stands in the river has been reinforced with stones and wire mesh to prevent further erosion.
In August 2022, the Infrastructure ministry launched a tender for the construction of the new Keritis bridge, with a budget of €6.7 million, and in March 2023, work on laying the foundations for the bridge was begun by the contractor Iridanos ATE, who won the tender with a bid of €6.41 million. Since then, work has been proceeding by fits and starts, with some delays due to the need for expropriations of the land for the approach on the eastern side of the river. This week, Haniotika Nea announced that construction is now scheduled to be completed and the bridge opened to traffic by March 2025:
The Keritis bridge is nearing completion
There is optimism that the new Keritis bridge will be opened to traffic in March 2025, in view of the recent progress made. Currently construction crews are working both on the installation of railings on the main body of the bridge and on the point where it connects with the Chania-Alikianos road.
On a site visit by Haniotika Nea this week the contractor’s representative Sifis Kadilierakis told the paper: “We are well on the way, we believe that the project will be delivered in March 2025, so that vehicles will be able to pass to and from Alikianos. It remains to be seen what will happen as regards the channelling of the river because there are some outstanding issues there and further studies are needed, but I believe that the bridge as such will be delivered unless there is some delay owing to the weather.”
It should be noted that the foundations of the bridge required the use of 50 concrete piles of 16 to 25 metres deep, and it was on these that the footing was constructed to ensure stability. The contract for the work originally scheduled completion within 2024, but there was a delay as the issue of appropriations for the section connecting the bridge with the Chania-Alikianos road had not been settled. An extension was therefore granted which expires in March 2025.
(Haniotika Nea 12/11/24)