The map does not offer many options around the well that will be opened in Gran Via, near Plaça Espanya, to build the tunnel for the extension of line 8 of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC) to Gràcia. The dense urban fabric of the Eixample in this area only breathes a little in the deteriorated Joan Miró Park and it is there, in the area closest to Carrer Diputació, where they intend to install the soil extraction area for the tunneling machine. This is what the construction project approved by the Government and which has the approval of the Barcelona City Council, although the neighborhood protest clamoring to save the 178 affected trees has led the administrations to look for an alternative or, failing that , to minimize the occupied space.
And at this point are the people in charge of the Department of Land, looking at the map around the tunnel boring machine well and realizing how difficult it is to reduce the impact resulting from the execution of one of the most important infrastructure works of recent times years. All this, in an electoral context that conditions any decision and that yesterday brought up the issue once again in the municipal commissions.
Sources from the Generalitat figure at approximately one hectare the space necessary to accommodate everything they need: an area for the provision of material, another for the accumulation of the earth extracted by the tunneling machine, the loading and unloading space for the trucks with the corresponding access... The only alternatives are those that were discarded at the time because they had a greater impact on the mobility or on the daily life of some residents who will have to live with these works for up to five years.
The simplest option from a technical point of view, without taking into account the environment, would have been to cut the entire Gran Via, which during the works will maintain two lanes of entry into Barcelona except at very specific times. Other options studied were the partial or total cutting of the Paral·lel or Maria Cristina avenues and both are back on the table. In the case of the Parallel, it would mean occupying half of the road, with the corresponding impact on traffic and neighbours. As for Maria Cristina, it would significantly alter the activity of Fira de Barcelona and of the city itself. No car show, no Pyromusical, no end of the year or arrival of the marathon. All things passing between the two Venetian towers would be altered for more than three years.
Whatever solution is finally adopted, there is still time to make a decision. The bidding for the works is scheduled for the summer and then the awarded company will also be able to have its say, and accept or reject the possible locations proposed. Even with the start of work, this issue can continue to be discussed, since the TBM - and the associated work area - will not arrive until 2025, at least.
