AFTER five years of daily inconvenience caused by the construction of flyover bridges along Limassol’s motorway and roundabouts, the €100 million-worth project is close to completion. The delivery of Yermasoyia flyover is expected to take place this summer, significantly reducing traffic congestion at peak hours.
“The entire Yermasoyia roundabout will be delivered by the end of the summer,” said Panayiotis Afamis, Senior Executive Engineer, Public Works Department. “At the end of May, the motorway’s flyover will be delivered, which will reduce much of the roundabout’s traffic,” he added.
For residents, the work cannot be completed too soon. “The traffic along Limassol motorway at peak hours continues to be horrific despite the creation of the flyovers. We hope that the completion of Yermasoyia flyover will improve things, but I am not overly optimistic,” said Maria Ioannou, Ayios Athanasios resident.
Yermasoyia roundabout and flyover cost a total of €30 million, 62 per cent of which is funded by EU Cohesion Funds. The Yermasoyia segment of the project features a total of three flyovers to accommodate the area’s heavy traffic, aiming to reduce it by 40 per cent at peak hours.
The main flyover, passing on top of Yermasoyia roundabout, is 300m long. The second flyover, passing on top of the Amathus river has been widened, while the third, Prophitis Elias flyover, has been adjusted to include vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle lanes in its underground crossing.
The completion of the Yermasoyia flyovers was originally scheduled for this month, but will come with a few months’ delay. The main cause of the delay was a general strike by construction workers in October 2006, in protest at what they saw as a breach of their collective agreement with the contractors, Joannou and Paraskevaides.
The contractors are presently seeking compensation from the Public Works for the additional cost borne by the company because of the delay. The state is presently examining the matter, although it may, in turn, claim that the contractor is in breach of contract as the set deadlines have not been met.
In addition to the delays, the project has been criticised as visually repulsive due to the heavy concentration of big blocks of cement and the absence of green areas. Ayia Fyla residents have also been complaining of the creation of noise pollution in a residential area.
Limassol Municipality has repeatedly called the state to provide funding for projects aiming to balance out the negative impacts from the operation of Ayia Fyla and Polemidia roundabouts. The municipality has suggested the connection of Evagoras Lanitis Street with 1 April Street, the connection of Scarlatti and Sfaktyrias Streets, the creation of Azaleas Park and the placement of sound barriers along the Ayia Fyla roundabout to reduce noise pollution in a residential area.
Meanwhile, a second large-scale project will be launched this year in the same area. The EAC has announced the start of a project for placing its high voltage wiring underground, and will start by removing two sets of electricity pylons, presently placed within residential areas.
The first set, crossing an area south of Polemidia, will be removed between 2008 and 2010. The second phase involves the removal of two high voltage lines from the northern Polemidia area. The project will cost a total of €41 million.
