City ups redress over tunnel collapse

City Hall has raised its claim for compensation against the builders of the Blanka Tunnel to almost 10 million Kč ($564,334), warning the final cost of July's tunnel collapse may be even higher.

The new sum includes money spent by the city on expert assessments carried out in the wake of the accident.

City Hall spokesman Jiří Wolf said the new amount also incorporated 3.5 million Kč in compensation the city was seeking in return for "the damage caused to the good name of Prague."

The cost of the physical damage from the caving-in has already been set at 5.9 million Kč.

The Czech Mining Authority (ČBÚ) is expected to complete its assessment of the causes of the accident early next month, when the final total will be known.

Metrostav has already accepted financial responsibility for the collapse, but its cause remains unknown. The July 6 collapse created a 15-meter-deep crater in the gardens of the Culture Ministry on Milady Horákové street in Prague 6.

An excavator driver and his machine were caught up in the collapse. The driver was later treated for serious injuries at a hospital.

City Hall says its studies have so far shown the accident was not due to errors on its part in project planning or geological and technical research. It says the ČBÚ will come to the same conclusion when it releases its report, although ahead of its investigation the authority suggested either project plans or technology could have been at fault.

Part of the northwest section of the Prague ring road, the 6-kilometer Blanka Tunnel stretches from the Malovanka neighborhood near Prague Castle, across Letná Park and underneath Stromovka Park to an exit in Troja.

As well as easing traffic gridlock, the 25 billion Kč tunnel also aims to decrease traffic accidents and reduce fuel consumption by shortening car journeys.

Originally slated for completion next autumn, the country's largest underground tunnel is now set to open in 2012.

Two years of work on the tunnel have caused disruption to commuters with related transit changes and have also seen access to Stromovka Park curtailed.

Speaking in July, outgoing Prague Mayor Pavel Bém (Civic Democrats, ODS) said the project would "definitely not cost more" as a result of the accident.

He also insisted Metrostav would cover all costs associated with the collapse, including safety and remedy works.

The collapse in July was the third such incident to hit the project.

In 2008, there were two other tunnel collapses in Stromovka, a public park that dates to the 12th century and has housed a nature reserve since 1988. Residents have repeatedly criticized the safety of the project, with Bém coming under frequent criticism about his management of the project.

Bém has previously been embroiled in a number of controversies over city spending and oversight of large public projects, including OpenCard, the city's ill-fated bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics and the long-running repairs to Charles Bridge.

- Klára Jiřičná contributed to this report.

Bill Lehane can be reached at
blehane@praguepost.com