Buckle up!

Drivers in a Greek region are continuing to drive over a buckling bridge damaged by storms rather than taking a detour – just because it saves time.

Motorists navigate the crumpled Palaiopyrgos Bridge just to avoid taking a detour that could add another 19 miles onto journeys, the Greek outlet Skai reports.

The Palaiopyrgos Bridge is located above the Pineios River and connects the villages of Palaiopyrgos and Alexandrini in Larissa, but it has been buckling for around three years because of the effects of Storm Daniel.

The concrete span, which handles the weight of traffic, eroded as a result of the floods and has not been replaced.

Drivers continue to use the bridge despite it being technically out of service as the alternatives are limited and unattractive.

The bridge acts as an essential resource for farmers trying to reach their patches on the other side of the river.

“What should we do? Should we go all the way around?” one local told Skai.

“Where should we go? Nothing can be done. We play with death every day.”

Yiannis Beritzas, the president of the Paleopyrgos village, said the bridge has cut off direct routes to Kissavos – meaning drivers must take a detour of up to 19 miles on the national highway. 

Politicians are now calling on the government to act amid fears the village could be flooded if the bridge continues to buckle.

“There a visible risk that in a new Daniel-type storm, where there will be another overflow of the Pinios River, the bridge will act as a dam for the water heading towards the sea, resulting in it overflowing from the riverbeds and flooding the village,” lawmaker Velopoulos Kyriakos said in a note to the infrastructure and transport minister.

In September 2023, the impact of Storm Daniel saw some Greek villages battered with 750 millimeters of rain in just one day – and the tempest resulted in around $2.14 billion worth of damage. In Greece, 17 people died because of the storm.

Plans for an upgraded bridge have reportedly been signed off – but construction hasn’t started yet.

“All traffic is at risk. Let’s not find ourselves running behind the events again,” Thanos Hatzizogidis, the president of the Paleopyrgos Agricultural Cooperative, warned.