By-pass gets green light
THE financial agreement with Turkey means that work to construct the first phase of the Alsancak bypass is to start in one month, Alsancak mayor Fırat Ataser confirmed.
Mr Ataser, speaking to Cyprus Today, said that they had now been given the green light for the 10 million TL project, despite numerous hold ups due to lack of state funding .
The 2.5km stretch of road running from Alpet’s Hasan Uzun petrol station to the Yeşiltepe junction – will now go ahead, pleasing local leaders and residents who had demanded relief from the “misery” of unbearable traffic jams on the only viable east-west route.
The two mayors of the region – Mr Ataser and Lapta mayor Mustafa Aktuğ – had spearheaded a campaign to push for the transformation of the road into a dual carriageway. Tourism bosses and hotel owners also joined the push for the road widening, as reported by Cyprus Today.
Mr Ataser said: “Our residents are very angry at the continuous setbacks to constructing the dual carriageway and the let downs and failed promises. However, we have been assured that construction will commence within one month, and the construction of the first phase will last for 150 days.”
Tüfekçi Construction – which won the tender for the project – will undertake the expansion of the road – being financed solely by the
TRNC State. “Work is currently being done for laying the infrastructure of street lighting and infrastructure,” they said.
The first phase – costing 10 million TL – is part of the overall expansion project to make the road all the way to Lapta a dual carriageway that will cost in total 35 million TL.
Mr Aktuğ said: “The traffic jams of Lapta and
Alsancak at rush hours have become intolerable – taking people near to two hours to reach Girne at times.
“The absence of a dual carriageway to cater for the increasing population of the rgion is harming tourism. No one wants to come to a country where it takes them hours to transport between places when in reality it should take those 15-20 minutes”.