FRANCAVILLA. The reopening of the San Silvestro tunnel connecting Francavilla with Pescara, closed since November 22nd of last year following the collapse of a bulkhead caused by water infiltration and bad weather that day, has been postponed until at least mid-July.
Anas, manager of the variant on which the tunnel is located and responsible for the restoration activities, at the beginning of March had estimated the time necessary for the execution of the works and the consequent reopening to traffic at no less than 120 days, identifying the useful period for the operation between the end of June and the beginning of July. An indication that also seemed to be confirmed recently, when the mayor of Francavilla Luisa Russo had requested and obtained the possibility of carrying out an inspection of the tunnel, still under seizure. Precisely on that occasion the mayor had received reassurances from the technicians regarding compliance with the timetable, with the possibility of only night closures for the possible completion of the activities. Even a couple of days ago, Mayor Russo, with a video from his social pages, explained that he had spoken with the engineers, who envisaged a reopening for next week, always respecting the timetable. Yesterday, however, the news arrived of the postponement of at least two weeks: this is what Anas needs to complete the repair and safety work on the tunnel.
According to the manager, the completion of the work is now estimated for mid-month. In the meantime, the technicians, taking advantage of the closure, have worked on both the side that goes towards Pescara and the one towards Ortona, so as to involve the more than 3 kilometers of tunnel. By mid-month, the operations will be concluded, even if the actual reopening will then require the release of the seizure order from the Prosecutor’s Office. A prospect that does not please Mayor Russo, as evidenced by his words: “This is not good. I have been available and tolerant with Anas, but I cannot accept this behavior. A few days ago I was reassured that the schedule would be respected. Now in the space of a few hours I learn first of the postponement to July 10 and then to July 15. All of this is subordinate to the release of the seizure, an operation that will presumably require further time.” And he continues: “Evidently those who are carrying out the work do not know the traffic problem caused by the closure of the tunnel, in addition to the continuous requests I receive from the population about the reopening. Daily requests, to which I try to respond based on the information I receive, but if these are then ignored it becomes difficult to give certain answers”. Then he concludes: “Let’s at least try to shorten the time to get to the release of the seizure: I invite Anas, once the tunnel is made safe, to start the necessary procedures, in order to shorten the time”. In fact, if this process were to be started only at the end of the works, the risk of going beyond mid-July with the tunnel closed would be concrete.
