Reppas is requesting a prosecutor for the highway mess

A clash between the Ministry of Infrastructure and the “Nea Odos” company has broken out after the incredible suffering of several thousands of drivers trapped in the Athens- Lamia highway yesterday. The thriller included kilometers-long congestion, “trapped” snow machines, blaring police and ambulance sirens amidst a snowfall without anyone knowing what exactly had happened. The situation normalized shortly after 3am, when the “Golgotha” of thousands of holidaymakers finally ended.

The curious thing is that the snowfall was not of such intensity as to justify the incredible mess that was created.

Dimitris Reppas, Minister of Infrastructure, has called for the intervention of the Supreme Court on Monday, in order – as indicated in a letter to the prosecutor Ioannis Tendes- to “investigate any lead for any existing criminal liability from acts and omissions in the actions of any private companies or service factors, who contributed to putting the public at risk by having them 'snowed in' at low temperatures”.

Mr. Reppas ordered the Public Works Inspectors to investigate what transpired, and also asked the Inspector General of Public Administration to investigate all responsibilities of any kind of any officials in charge at the Ministry of Infrastructure. Until the investigation is completed, these employees are suspended.

He also asked the Concessionaire Consortium of “Nea Odos”, for a detailed operational plan in view of the weather, in order to determine whether it was sufficient or implemented at all. A similar letter was also sent to the other ventures that have signed concession contracts for their own contingency plans in such cases.

Mr. Reppas characterized yesterday’s situation, when drivers were stranded on the highway, as unacceptable, adding that these actions are aiming to investigate the causes of failure of any plans, and to have those responsible be held accountable, but also to avoid similar incidents in the future.

As the minister stated, the management and correct operation and safety of motorway traffic is the sole responsibility of the concessionaire in the event.

“We need them to tell us what exactly happened. We expected highway congestion. We were aware of the weather, but the problem took on greater dimensions than we assumed. It seems that no existing projects were implemented and there was no necessary coordination”, stated vice Minister of Infrastructure, Yiannis Magriotis.

The Ministry of Infrastructure communiqué had preceded this statement, directed against contractors of the “Nea Odos” company.

It reads: “The major problems encountered, with hundreds of cars endlessly trapped and passengers at risk, showed that some did not perform their duty. As such, we are looking for those responsible in order to exact justice. As is known, management, operation and traffic security on highways belonging to private companies is the sole responsibility of the concessionaire in the event. The weather reports about snow and foul weather had to be taken into account so that those responsible could prepare and effectively implement a business plan”.

The “Nea Odos” consortium blames a combination of events transpiring last night, on the Athens- Lamia highway.

As the Consortium supports, a total of six trucks were diverted/immobilized (three in each direction) between 20:00pm and after midnight. The Traffic Police proceeded to ban all heavy vehicle movement at 23:30pm on Monday night.

Furthermore, a significant number of private vehicles was immobilized due to mechanical problems. The Consortium also stated that “Since yesterday afternoon at 16:00 and up until this moment, 50 snow plows are operating on the whole highway, while around 2.5 tons of salt have already been used according to the submitted modus operandi”.

Due to the problems caused, unfortunately, many drivers began using the emergency lane. This prevented direct access of company vehicles and machinery which were trying to reach the operation areas. “Unfortunately, these things happened at the time when the congestion caused by returning holidaymakers reached its peak of 12.000 vehicles per hour. Worthy of note is also the fact that a total of 89.000 vehicles returned, with 64.000 of them returning during the event peak period.

The Consortium also maintains that it is not responsible for traffic arrangements on the motorway.

Finally, in terms of comments and observations regarding tolling, “Nea Odos” says that despite the fact that the operation of toll booths did not affect the smooth movement of vehicles, the company decided to suspend all toll charges on all stations from 20:00 on Monday to 3:30 am on Tuesday.