Problems with the Pipera - Tunari passageway

A.T.

The costs of the Pipera - Tunari overpass have increased to almost EUR 11.44 million, nearly double the initially estimated amount, according to a decision of the Local Council of Bucharest"s second district, mayoralty sources say, as quoted by NewsIn, due to several design mistakes. These mistakes will also cause the initial June deadline to be extended by another eight months.

The most recent issue that constructors have experienced is the fact that they failed to account for the power lines located near the railway that the overpass was supposed to cross, which prevent the erection of the beams needed to finalized the works. "We have reached an agreement with the Romanian Railway Company to halt railway traffic in that area for two weeks, which would allow us to move the poles over to the side of the passageway", head of the Ilfov County Council said, Cristache Rădulescu. The Ilfov County Council is involved in the project of the overpass because the project is intended to streamline traffic on the Northern side of the Bucharest-Ilfov County border. Mr. Rădulescu said: "The moving of the Apa Nova water mains, of the gas mains, and of the Romtelecom cables which were not featured on the initial project, required an additional EUR 4 million investment. We have not yet uncovered the cause of these mistakes ".

According to the chairman of the Ilfov County Council, as quoted by NewsIn, the additional works were not the only reason behind missing the initial November 2008 deadline, and its delay until June 2009. Securing the permits from Apa Nova and Bucharest"s mayoralty was an extremely tedious and lengthy process. The overpass at the crossroads between the Pipera and Tunari Highways is built by the mayoralties of Bucharest"s Second District and of Voluntari, in order to streamline traffic in the area. The initial investment amounted to EUR 6.225.588 Euros, of which EUR 5.603.029 Euros came from European funds, with the remaining EUR 622.558 being cofinanced by the Mayoralties of District 2 and Voluntari.

The additional expenses for the execution of the overpass were caused by the need to identify and relocate some grids, which weren"t featured in the initial project, and not by designing mistakes, authorized sources say. Two more Apa Nova water mains were found on site, which meant the piers of the bridge had to be moved as well, because the shifting of the mains would have been extremely expensive. The project has secured all the necessary permits, including from the Romanian Railway Company (CFR), and was approved by the former Minister of European Integration, which also handled the tenders. Another issue of the overpass in question, is that incoming traffic from the 4-lane bridge and the Pipera Boulevard which will also have four lanes, will have to be squeezed into a two-lane road. In order for the traffic to be truly fluid, the mayoralty of Bucharest will have to broaden access to Pipera to span four lanes as well.