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Nobody likes to sit in traffic, but drivers in central Greece are resorting to extreme measures to make their trips as short as possible. Residents of the city of Larissa and the farming communities surrounding it are using a bridge that collapsed almost three years ago because it’s shorter than the posted detour.
As reported by local media outlet LarissaNet (via Carscoops), the story started with Storm Daniel, which ripped through Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Libya in September 2023, leaving thousands of casualties and plenty of destroyed infrastructure in its wake. In Thessaly—the north-central Greek administrative region of which Larissa is the capital—79 bridges were destroyed. One of them was the Palaeopyrgos Bridge over the Pineios River.
But apparently the bridge wasn’t destroyed enough to deter impatient drivers. We’re not talking about a full collapse here, where there is nothing left of the span. Instead, the bridge sagged like a paper plate at a backyard barbecue, the center section dipping down to within inches of the water but not actually falling in. Nor did it detach from the sections on either side. So it’s still possible to get across without testing a car’s water-fording capability.
Με ρίσκο η διέλευση οχημάτων από την κατεστραμμένη γέφυρα Παλαιόπυργου
That’s exactly what local residents are doing. Drone footage posted by LarissaNet shows a Ford Ranger driving down into the depression and back up the other side like it’s on a manufacturer’s test track. The driver doesn’t seem concerned by the fact that the bridge, which has been hanging unsupported for almost three years, could drop into the river at any time.
The risk is incentivized because, according to the local news coverage, the only other way across the river is a slow detour to the National Highway. Farmers don’t want to waste time and fuel going the safe route, and local officials aren’t really doing anything to dissuade them. Traffic is officially banned from the collapsed bridge, but it’s not physically blocked by barriers or police. Navigation systems even reportedly route drivers to the bridge.
Even if there’s no funding to replace the bridge, one would think the local government would do more to prevent drivers from continuing to use it as an unofficial river crossing. Hopefully the video footage spreading across the internet will spur officials into action before a rescue operation is needed.
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Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he’s not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.
