August 29 will mark six months since the road sank and traffic diverted onto neighbouring roads. This is the Sp 24 “Torre Abate Michele – Caroniti – Joppolo Ffss” between km 7 + 100 (Caroniti town centre) and km 7 + 500, road immediately closed to traffic. It is an entire semester lived with obvious inconveniences, because the alternatives involve double the distance and travel times.
However, despite the time that has passed, the situation has not changed: the sinkhole has filled with vegetation, while motorists continue to find themselves faced with an insurmountable obstacle, without any clear signage: the difficulty of unaware motorists (especially tourists) who travel along it towards the capital is palpable, but when they reach the incriminated stretch, they are forced to reverse: “they didn’t even have the good sense to put up a sign to indicate that the road is not passable” they complain.
In a few weeks we will return to school and there are many commuters still forced to travel – some with their own vehicles and some with public transport – on alternative roads, which remain the provincial road up to Nicotera or Coccorino, to reach Monte Poro on the way to Vibo. «They have had time – some Joppolesi point out – from the Province…» thus making an appeal to the mayor Giuseppe Dato to «pound his fists on the table of the Province to make our needs heard».
The road is in fact under the jurisdiction of the former Enel building. The order drawn up by President Corrado L’Andolina has been in force since March 1st and is closed to traffic. Upstream, a subsidence of the road surface was found that affected almost the entire carriageway, due to the collapse of a masonry manhole designed to convey rainwater from upstream. The road surface would be in precarious conditions of stability, with the risk of further subsidence and jeopardy of safety. Therefore, the provision states that it will remain closed until the work to secure the manhole is completed and the conditions of transit are restored.