The underground road passage Pasajul Sudului was fully opened on Sunday. The pedestrian passage was also opened, and the crossings located above the ground were eliminated.
Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea said that by the end of September tramways will run again. The underground road has four lanes, two on each direction, as well as eight elevators and four escalators.
“The contract was signed in 2014 and is scheduled to be completed in 2015. Due to design flaws and poor management, this project was blocked. The total value of the project was originally calculated at EUR 19.5 million. Of this amount, an equivalent amount of 90 percent would have been eligible, which should have been attracted from the European Union. Unfortunately, due to design mistakes, the City Hall lost funding in 2015 and only 15 percent of European funds were used for the project, with the remainder being municipal money. In the end, the project costs 18.3 million euros, not as it was initially calculated, “ said Mayor Gabriela Firea about the passage.
The Sudului Passage is expected to cut traffic in the area by 70 percent. The mayor said he had the manufacturer’s guarantee that the tramway would be brought back to September. “By the time the schools start, around September 10, we have the constructor’s commitment that the tramway area will also be inaugurated,” Firea said.