{"id":17829,"date":"2026-07-19T14:06:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T14:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/drivers-continue-using-collapsed-larissa-bridge-despite-safety-risks-greek-city-times\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T14:06:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T14:06:36","slug":"drivers-continue-using-collapsed-larissa-bridge-despite-safety-risks-greek-city-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/drivers-continue-using-collapsed-larissa-bridge-despite-safety-risks-greek-city-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Drivers Continue Using Collapsed Larissa Bridge Despite Safety Risks \u2013 Greek City Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-first=\"R\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Residents in central Greece are continuing to drive across a severely damaged bridge near Larissa, despite the structure being declared unsafe after it buckled during Storm Daniel in 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Palaeopyrgos Bridge, which spans the Pineios River, suffered major structural damage when Storm Daniel devastated the Thessaly region in September 2023. While dozens of bridges across the region were destroyed, this crossing partially collapsed, leaving its centre section sagging dangerously close to the river below.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the obvious risk, many local drivers\u2014particularly farmers\u2014continue using the bridge to avoid a lengthy detour via the national highway. The alternative route adds both time and fuel costs, making the damaged crossing an attractive, albeit dangerous, shortcut.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u039c\u03b5 \u03c1\u03af\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf \u03b7 \u03b4\u03b9\u03ad\u03bb\u03b5\u03c5\u03c3\u03b7 \u03bf\u03c7\u03b7\u03bc\u03ac\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03b1\u03c0\u03cc \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03c1\u03b1\u03bc\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7 \u03b3\u03ad\u03c6\u03c5\u03c1\u03b1 \u03a0\u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03b9\u03cc\u03c0\u03c5\u03c1\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/94k3VcB2yJU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drone footage published by local outlet <strong>LarissaNet<\/strong> shows vehicles, including a Ford Ranger, carefully driving down the bridge\u2019s buckled section before climbing back onto the opposite side. Although traffic has officially been prohibited, there are reportedly no physical barriers preventing motorists from accessing the bridge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to local reports, some satellite navigation systems still direct drivers towards the crossing, further contributing to its continued use.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bridge has remained in its damaged state for nearly three years, with no permanent repairs carried out. Local residents have repeatedly raised concerns over the lack of action, warning that continued use of the unstable structure could eventually lead to a serious accident.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Storm Daniel caused catastrophic flooding across Greece in September 2023, particularly in Thessaly, destroying homes, roads and critical infrastructure, including dozens of bridges. The Palaeopyrgos Bridge remains one of the region\u2019s most visible reminders of the disaster.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As footage of motorists crossing the damaged bridge circulates online, pressure is mounting on local authorities to either secure the site or accelerate plans for a permanent replacement before tragedy strikes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Source:<\/strong> LarissaNet<\/p>\n<footer class=\"article-tags entry-footer\">\n<div>\n\t\t<strong>Tags:<\/strong><br \/>\n\t\tbridge collapse, flooding, Greece, Greece news, Greek news, greek news today, infrastructure, Larissa, Local news, motorists, Palaeopyrgos Bridge, Pineios River, road safety, Storm Daniel, Thessaly, transport\t<\/div>\n<\/footer><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/2026\/07\/19\/collapsed-larissa-bridge-drivers-still-crossing\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Residents in central Greece are continuing to drive across a severely damaged bridge near Larissa, despite the structure being declared unsafe after it buckled during Storm Daniel in 2023. The Palaeopyrgos Bridge, which spans the Pineios River, suffered major structural damage when Storm Daniel devastated the Thessaly region in September 2023. While dozens of bridges &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Drivers Continue Using Collapsed Larissa Bridge Despite Safety Risks \u2013 Greek City Times\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/drivers-continue-using-collapsed-larissa-bridge-despite-safety-risks-greek-city-times\/#more-17829\" aria-label=\"Read more about Drivers Continue Using Collapsed Larissa Bridge Despite Safety Risks \u2013 Greek City Times\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-17-at-12.26.21-PM.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}