«Tell us when the Tenda tunnel will reopen». The president of the Province, Luca Robaldo, asks this on behalf of the tunnel monitoring committee, in a letter to the director of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Enrico Maria Puja, and to the extraordinary commissioner Nicola Prisco. The email was sent on May 31st «and we did not spread it, so as not to fall into electoral controversies – says the president and mayor of Mondovì -. Two weeks later, there has still been no response.”
In the letter, Robaldo asks for «an urgent confirmation on the delivery times of the works on the Tenda tunnel. We understand that neither Anas nor the extraordinary commissioner have ever scheduled alternative dates to the one officially indicated several times for the delivery of the works, i.e. 30 June”. And as spokesperson for the Province, mayors of Cuneo, Limone, Vernante, Robilante, Roccavione, Borgo and representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, he adds: «Given the complex and unsustainable infrastructural criticality of this province, it seems completely clear that a possible postponement , certainly not positive for this area, should at least be communicated promptly.”
On the phone, Robaldo goes further. Remember that this morning, he will send a letter to the mayors, parliamentarians and elected regional councilors, who will become part of an expanded table and while waiting for a response from Anas and MIT, he comments “without controversy” on the reality of the facts , described above The print by the Cuneo geologist Giorgio Martinotti, whose predictions about Tenda have always proved to be spot on: «Opening by June is completely unattainable. The list of things to do is still very long.” Starting from the assembly of the new bridge over the Rio della Cà, started in May and which will last at least three months (ending between the end of July and the beginning of August), to the river which will be remodelled, to the hairpin bends in Valle Roya to be rebuilt, to the completion of the excavations at the new entrance, connections on the French side, finishing, tooling and safety operations.
Tenda bis, the story of a failure
MATTEO BORGETTO
April 23, 2024
In Fossano, in an Anas conference with the minister Matteo Salvini, the deputy Edoardo Rixi explained that the objective is “to reopen by the end of summer, in any case before winter”. Remote hypothesis, according to Martinotti: «It can only be done in the case of opening in provisional mode (but it would lead to interference with construction sites and also risks for the safety of vehicles, ed.). Spring 2025 is more reliable. However, if we are talking about definitive opening to traffic, with work and testing completed, the end of 2025 is reasonable.” Translated: fourth summer and fourth consecutive winter without the Tent since the flood in early October 2020.
«We read with concern and we see, also from the photos of the construction site, that the announced deadline will not be respected» continues Robaldo. The only alternative on the road, the former military “of the 46 hairpin bends”, reserved for residents, cross-border workers and tourists with authorization. The other is the Fossano-Cuneo-Ventimiglia railway, which the EU Council included in the Global network with the Ten-T regulation, recognizing its international value, which will allow access to European funding to improve the route. «At least this is good news – concludes Robaldo -. We will discuss it at the technical table on the line at the end of the month.”
