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congestion, Cyprus, sewage, traffic, transport

SCORES of unprepared drivers faced chaos as on Nicosia’s back roads yesterday, as works began on the capital’s new sewage system, closing off the northbound lane of Limassol Avenue, one of Cyprus’ busiest roads.

The avenue was closed between the Athalassa-Limassol Avenue junction from 5am, up to the Aluminium Tower.

Traffic slowed to a crawl on the remaining half, while in the residential back roads where there were no diversion signs, frustrated drivers flagrantly ignored roadsigns, causing further disruption.

Demetris Demetriou, head of traffic police, said yesterday “The traffic was okay” and that while there were small delays, traffic police had the situation under control. He said that twenty police officers have been deployed to manage the traffic 24 hours a day, until the work is completed on the August 23.

Asked if he had recommendations for the drivers, he said “I would advise them to read the directions on road signs in order to know where to go, and to have in mind alternative routes if they are going in towards the centre, avoiding Limassol Avenue.”

By early evening outbound traffic was moving steadily and without problems.  However the real test for the traffic police will be tomorrow morning, when commuters bound for the centre will no doubt try to go via narrow back roads and busy roads such as Griva Dighenis.

Asked about anticipated delay times, Demetriou said “I hope to see how it will be on Monday.”

Alecos Michaelides, Head of the Public Works department (PWD) told RIK reporters that there were no special problems on the day, that the road works were on track and that traffic was flowing steadily.

He said that it was fortunate many road users were on holiday, which had reduced the congestion, and he was optimistic that the situation would improve once the traffic lights had been recalibrated to manage traffic on diversions. The road is used by over 45,000 cars daily the rest of the year.

One concerned Athalassa resident said yesterday: “It’s pretty clear that even a moderate increase around rush hour would be guaranteed to clog the residential streets around Athalassa Avenue.”

He added: “Most of the area west of Limassol Avenue is residential. I remember the last time Athalassa closed for works and traffic was diverted around the residential roads it was a nightmare - There was a huge volume clogging the streets.”

According to state television CyBC numerous drivers had complained that they were not informed about the road works

However Communications and Works Minister Erato Kozakou Marcoullis announced the works during a news conference last month.

“The Public Works Department set its primary goal to be executing the project at a time that would cause the least possible hassle to motorists and the public in general,” she said.

For the duration of the works, the dual carriageway will be reduced to two lanes, with traffic being diverted to the south-bound part of the avenue until Tuesday, August 17.

The traffic will then be transferred to the North-bound part of the carriageway, while works are carried out in the opposite direction. The avenue is expected to be fully back in use on August 23.

During this time, the PWD and Nicosia Municipality will completely replace the area’s old sewage system.

Michaelides said that the project had been reduced from seven to two weeks, with work expected to be carried out almost on a 24-hour basis.

During the last big works involving arterial routes such as Athalassa Avenue, shifts were doubled to ensure minimal disruption and finish off as soon as possible.

But Michaelides was keen to point out that this didn’t mean the costs would double also. He said the cost of the project, if it were to be carried out over a period of seven weeks – as initially proposed – would have cost €1 million, but denied the new cost would even reach €2 million.

“Our main plea is for those motorists who can avoid using Limassol Avenue during these dates to do so; otherwise, there will be members of the Traffic Police there at all times to direct drivers,” He said.