Old Fortress bridge once again included in ESPA funding programme

The Ionian Islands Regional Authority chose Monday to repeat its announcement regarding the inclusion of the Old Fortress bridge restoration project in the ESPA funding programme, without making it clear what exactly has changed compared to what had already been made known months earlier. With a budget now set at €3,112,000 and with the Ministry of Culture identified as the implementing body—through the Directorate for the Restoration of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments—the new announcement seems more like a recycling of a familiar narrative than a source of answers. It is therefore reasonable to ask whether this represents a substantive development, a routine update, or yet another communication-driven “restart” of a project that remains outside the construction phase.

Behind the repeated announcement, the project itself reveals the seriousness of a situation that had gone unaddressed for years. This is not a matter of maintenance, but of reconstruction from the ground up: a new metal deck, lighter and aesthetically integrated into the monument, with built-in infrastructure; interventions on the piers to ensure structural adequacy; removal of newer, incompatible additions; restoration of the retaining wall; and the creation of rainwater drainage systems. In other words, a project that confirms the existing condition had reached a critical point.

The intervention is not limited to the bridge as an isolated structure, but extends to the fortification system itself. The stabilisation of the retaining wall, the completion of masonry, and the overall water management indicate that the problem was deeper—and already known. And here a crucial question arises: if the extent of the damage justifies such a large-scale intervention, why was its treatment delayed for so long?

The answer lies, in part, in the well-known gap between administrative knowledge and public action. The condition of the bridge had already been documented in technical reports as early as 2022. The issue was known at the administrative level, yet it remained outside the sphere of public priority. For a critical period, the only access point to one of Corfu’s most important historical sites operated with acknowledged weaknesses, without the corresponding sense of urgency.

Today, with the renewed announcement of its inclusion in the ESPA programme, the case appears to be taking yet another step at the level of declarations. The question, however, remains unchanged—and more pressing than ever: when will repeated announcements turn into an actual project? Because, unlike press releases, deterioration does not repeat itself—it progresses.

GIORGOS KATSAITIS