# Newcomers Guide: 2. Road Works



## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Up in the hills partial collapses of roads at the side are common. There was a collapse not far from us. The extent of this can be gauged from the first picture below which is from Google Earth. The dark area of tarmaced road marks where the collapse was repaired. During the rains of the winter before last it collapsed again. Bollards were promptly put around the area which remained untouched for over a year.

Some weeks ago workmen started clearing the area behind the road in the vicinity of the collapse which we thought might be for a house. In fact it turned out to be a dirt track diversion from one side of the collapsed road to the other.

Shortly after this the big diggers arrived and dug up an entire section of the road. We could now understand the need for the diversion. Unfortunately they did not stop and continued digging with a maniacal zeal until a huge pit at least 50ft deep extending into the field opposite was created. The dirt removed was dumped further up the road into a huge ditch by a shuttle of 2 lorries working for days and moving thousands of tons of earth. The results of these labours can be seen in the second picture. 

On the diversion side of the picture the safety barrier had been installed to prevent drivers driving into the huge pit. Unfortunately the nature of the soil here is to crumble and collapse into the pit. This can be seen in the the third picture. Note the barrier support starting to collapse into the pit as it has done twice before and the newly formed cracks in the surface.

We are now wondering if the collapse will continue and there will need to be a diversion around the diversion. A word with the Muktar's clerk informed us that they (whoever "they" are) cannot agree on how to proceed.

Pete


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

I thought you all might like an update on this important part of life in Cyprus:

Nothing has happened except for the removal of all the earth moving machinery.

Pete


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## Pam n Dave (Jun 11, 2007)

PeteandSylv said:


> I thought you all might like an update on this important part of life in Cyprus:
> 
> Nothing has happened except for the removal of all the earth moving machinery.
> 
> Pete


That's because thunderstorms are forecast and they don't want the machinery washing away.


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

At last here is the latest update that you've all been waiting for.

After a long period of inactivity our road-builders have returned and started laying hundreds of tons of medium size rocks on the bed of their dig. They also started carving vast amounts of the chalky soil out of the hill above the roads works and laid this on the rocks. This was all compressed with a roller. After several days this brought the base level up 2 or 3 ft and the result can be seen in picture 1. Picture 2 shows the wreck of the hill above where the infill has been removed.

The new infill does not look very different from the stuff the dug out in the first place so they may have taken thousands of tons from A and dumped them in B followed by thousands of tons from C and dump them back into A.

Good for their employment though!!

Pete


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## Pam n Dave (Jun 11, 2007)

Is the road passable Pete, it's on our route to the dam.


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Pam n Dave said:


> Is the road passable Pete, it's on our route to the dam.


If you put your foot down and get up enough speed you can just make it to the other side.



or alternatively as it said on my first post there is dirt track diversion from one side of the collapsed road to the other.

By the way our house is up the next left concrete road past the works.

Pete


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Well I'm delighted to report stunning progress. The hillside above has been devastated but the hole has been filled and what looks like a road has been formed ready for tarmac.

At this rate of progress it might be finished by the end of summer.

Pete


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2013)

Another good roadwork can be seen in this article

?It?s a miracle we haven?t mourned any victims? | Cyprus Mail

Anders


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

That very scary


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

That's definitely worse than our collapse at Kannaviou which I can now report has been completed apart from a bit of tidying up which probably won't get done. The road surface is tarmac and has been laid so well that you can't detect it when driving on and off it.

We now await next winter's rains with fingers crossed.

Pete


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## Pam n Dave (Jun 11, 2007)

We were up there last week and the pictures don't show the whole story as the collapse is on a bend.

Some of the collapses around here had bollards around them so a wide berth was necessary. Over time the bollards have crept towards the cracks.


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