Improvements planned for Paphos to Polis road

[memory man]

THE government is considering improvements to the current Paphos to Polis road now that the construction of a new four-lane highway has stalled due to a lack of funds.

Original plans for the four-lane highway date back to 2000 and had long been a demand of locals because of heavy traffic, dangerous bends and road accidents on the existing two-lane highway. It would also cut travel time between Paphos and Polis.


However, critics consistently raised concerns as to the sensibility of the project which came with a huge price tag arguing it would cut travel time between the two towns by only eight minutes.

Last year, the government announced that the road would not be built but have now agreed that improvements to the existing road were necessary to modernise it and increase safety.

Mayor of Polis Chrysochous, Giotis Papachristofi, told the Cyprus Mail that the government has a current budget of 3.4 million euros which may be used to widen the current road in two places, making these parts into three lanes. He added that a number of dangerous corners would be also be ‘cut’ to improve visibility.

However, although the mayor welcomed the news, he stressed that the plans do not go far enough and the construction of the original four lane road was imperative.

“We will push for a new road, this is what we all want. We need a new road and with four lanes as has been planned. The current road is dangerous, of poor quality and cuts us off from the rest of the island,” he said.

Papchristofi said that a new road would help ‘open up’ the area, making travel between Paphos town and the airport much easier and helping to increase visitor numbers to the district. He said that everyone has the right to a good quality road and that as others have been built across the island, Polis should be allowed theirs too, as they also pay their taxes.

He added that in the coming weeks he and district community leaders wouldl meet with President Nicos Anastasiades in Nicosia to discuss the possibility of at least commencing the first stage of the original proposed four lane highway, as soon as possible.

“This entire project will cost about 200 million euros, if they (the government) don’t have that, at least they could start the first piece of it which will connect Paphos to the Kathikas- Arodes area.”

source:- http://cyprus-mail.com/2017/05/17/impro ... olis-road/

[Dominic]

There's no way the existing road can be widened to four lanes.

[trevnhil]

It is the New road (new route planned) that would be 4 lanes. From Paphos to Stroumbi.

Here are the original Plans..

http://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/pwd/pwd.nsf/A ... %CF%82.pdf



Trev..

[Mrblobby]

I thought the EU paid for little jobs like this .

They are stumping up a load of dosh for a road in Madagascar , remind me , whereabouts in Europe is that ?

"Built on high-rise columns that will soar out of the sea, it will wind its way past eight miles of stunning coastline, with pristine white beaches and azure waters. The cost? A mere £1.3 billion, or £110,000 per metre - of which a large chunk is expected to come from the European Union."

[cyprusmax47]

I fully agree to some improvements on the two hill sites as one can find in Italy in similar situations where it is necessary to have 3 lines to overtake slow traffic. Shave off "corners" I think is already too much efforts and with an budged of only 3.4 mio won't be done properly.
I absolutely disagree to the old plans for a full 4 lane highway with tunnels below Tsada. It is so nice to drive up the hilly road towards Tsada and arriving on the top with the lovely view of Troodos mountains and green valleys with Orange trees.and grape vines.. Tourists and locals come to Polis and Akamas for the beauty of the area and not to save some time to reach their destination. The area is not designed for mass tourism either. I drove the road two times in the Easter holidays lunchtime and there was no traffic at all...
Max

[Dominic]

We drive portions of the road every day and it is never really busy. The occasional tanker will delay you for a few minutes, but that is all.

[Dominic]

And look how long it took them to improve the TOTK road! That went on for years.

[memory man]

Paphos-Polis road not financially viable, auditor says

The proposed road from Paphos to Polis, in its current form, is a financially unviable project and a waste of taxpayer money, Auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides said, rejecting suggestions that the matter was not within his remit.

“Our service reiterates the position that construction of the project in question, in its current form, constitutes squandering of public money, on the basis of a decision that clashes with the acceptable and legally prescribed review and selection procedures,” Michaelides said in a statement issued on Thursday.

It followed the cabinet’s rejection of the audit service’s view that the proposed Paphos to Polis road was a waste of money in the current form.

“That is our view, which we have every right to express since auditing public spending falls under the hardest core of our constitutionally guaranteed powers,” the auditor said.

“We also express regret about the fact that, as we have been informed by the finance minister yesterday, during its September 13, 2017, session the cabinet judged our reports to be beyond our remit.”

It was noteworthy, according to the auditor, that during times when there was no legal framework guiding the selection and advancement of investment projects, the audit service was recommending reducing the cost within logical levels – 2005 to 2012 — without any suggestion from the government that it was not within its remit.

In his report, the auditor said the reason the project was not sustainable was the decision to effectively construct a motorway when it was not justified by the traffic data.

The annual average daily traffic in 2014 was 6,801 vehicles per day, with August of the same year recording the highest.

On August 15, a national holiday, 10,944 vehicles used the road, the report said. Ten days later officials counted 830 vehicles at 6pm, the highest hourly traffic. The average during the month was around 9,000 vehicles per day.

The current plan is for a two-lane road, which however, will have the geometrical characteristics of a motorway.

The public works department’s standards for a two-lane road provides for an average 13,000 vehicles per day whereas the respective standard for motorways is 41,000, the auditor said.

“This is part of a bigger plan providing that in the future, (not specified when) the complete project will be constructed at a cost of €260m (current prices) that will include a four-lane motorway,” the report said.

Taxpayers were currently looking at a cost of between €68m and €81.5m, depending on which version the state would go with.

The audit service had pointed out to the finance minister that building a two-lane road with the geometric characteristics of a motorway meant using parameters fit for the latter.

That, in turn, meant a higher cost of construction, especially in higher areas as was the case, and made the road less safe because it would encourage motorists to drive at higher speeds.

“Based on all the above, we expressed the view that the minister, exercising the powers granted to him by the framework law and acting in a lawful manner as he ought to, should reject the project without delay and ask the public works department to review the issue so that the project becomes financially viable.”

http://cyprus-mail.com/2017/09/21/papho ... itor-says/

[Royal]

As a Polis resident who goes to Paphos once or twice a week, i agree with Hudswell (and the Auditor General) that a motorway would be a complete waste of money. My personal experience, let alone Road Traffic Department statistics, is that there is simply not the weight of traffic to warrant such a huge investment.

[oylero]

Fully agree with most recent posts. As a Polis resident too traveling frequently between Polis and Paphos it is true that there are times of day esp early evening when the road can be busy, but outside these times the volume of traffic cannot / does not justify a full new 4 lane highway. Some bends and narrows in the existing B7 can be smoothed in a few places, certainly and this would be undoubtedly the most cost effective way ahead. The Latchi Coral Bay superroute also takes pressure off the B7 for traffic going to/from the northern parts of Paphos. Lets be sensible not pouring tons of mon€y and cement at this.
OylerO