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“This project represents an example of institutional collaboration between the Region, the Municipality and the railway service operator: we are removing a level crossing, increasing safety and the commercial speed of trains, reducing waiting times for citizens and passengers and at the same time also resolving a traffic problem within this area and this city. These works, which were carried out between Santa Caterina and via delle Murge, have generated an overall road network that has made it possible to connect different neighbourhoods of the city of Bari that were previously separated by a divide created by the presence of the railway. This way of working, both as a team of institutions and in terms of planning, must not only involve the elimination of level crossings, but must work towards the integration of the railway system into the urban fabric of the city. This will be the model we will follow in the future in cities throughout Puglia.” This was stated by the President of the Puglia Region, Antonio Decaro, inaugurating the new Bari Santa Caterina overpass built by Ferrovie Appulo Lucane in the Picone district of Bari, together with the elimination of the last FAL level crossing in the city area. “With Santa Caterina we are eliminating the last Ferrovie Appulo Lucane level crossing in the city of Bari and completing a process in which the Puglia Region has invested 24.5 million euros between the ‘Strade Nuove’ project and this work,” said the Councillor for Infrastructure and Mobility of the Puglia Region, Raffaele Piemontese. “But today’s significance goes beyond Bari: on the various Puglia railway networks we must continue systematic work to progressively eliminate interference between road and rail. Where elimination is technically possible, it must be planned starting from the highest-risk situations and from projects already mature; where it requires longer timescales, we must in the meantime raise the levels of technological protection. A modern railway,” Piemontese concluded, “is not only made up of new trains: it is a safer, more regular network that is increasingly less separated from the cities and areas it passes through.” “In recent weeks,” added the Mayor of Bari, Vito Leccese, “responding to requests from business owners, I insisted that the activities necessary for reopening be accelerated as much as possible, intensifying discussions with Ferrovie Appulo Lucane. It was important to minimise disruption to a strategic production area of the city and guarantee businesses better accessibility and working conditions. Today the reopening of the road network represents a concrete response to the needs of companies located in the Santa Caterina PIP area. Dialogue with business owners will continue on the other issues affecting Santa Caterina: the administration’s commitment is to support the growth of this area with interventions and infrastructure suited to the needs of those who work and invest here every day.” “Once again,” said the President of Ferrovie Appulo Lucane, Vittorio Zizza, “our Company has demonstrated its ability to keep its commitments: last July, during a site inspection with the Region and the Municipality, we guaranteed that the overpass would be opened to traffic by the first half of September and we met the deadline. This project,” he added, “is the result of synergy with the Puglia Region, which in recent years has invested energy and resources not only in the construction of new infrastructure for local public transport, but also in guaranteeing the right to sustainable mobility.” With the opening of the overpass to traffic, the Santa Caterina level crossing is being eliminated, which is the last FAL crossing in the city of Bari. This will make it possible to enhance and speed up the railway line, increase safety, improve traffic flow and liveability between the Picone and Poggiofranco districts and reduce emissions of exhaust gases from cars that are harmful to the environment. “Our objective,” explained the General Manager of Ferrovie Appulo Lucane, Stefano Di Bello, “was to open to traffic in September and we managed to achieve it. We are aware of the disruption caused in recent months to motorists and traders in the area, but with the elimination of the last FAL level crossing in the city of Bari and the opening to traffic of this overpass, traffic flow and liveability in this area will improve significantly. No more waiting at the level crossing or emission of exhaust gases from cars waiting. This project confirms FAL’s now well-established role in the cities served by its vehicles, namely not only to improve services for users, but also to build new infrastructure and thus also contribute to the urban regeneration of the areas served.” The new overpass will be just over 80 metres long, with two-way traffic for cars, a pavement for pedestrians on one side and a cycle path on the other. This intervention is in addition to the 9 already carried out by FAL as part of the Strade Nuove Project, implemented under a memorandum of understanding signed with the Puglia Region and the Municipality of Bari and inaugurated in November 2024, and is proof that our Company, in addition to improving services for users, also contributes to the development of city traffic and the urban regeneration of the areas served. The construction of the overpass was financed by the Puglia Region with 5.6 million euros (funding source Puglia Region FSC 2014-2020). Funds that are in addition to the 18.9 million euros allocated, again by the Puglia Region, for the Strade Nuove interventions already carried out by FAL, namely: 3 roundabouts (Via Tatarella/Via Matarrese; Via Mazzitelli/Cotugno/Bellomo; Viale Pasteur/Solarino/Murge); a pedestrian and cycle underpass between Viale Pasteur and Via Matarrese with 2.6 kilometres of cycle path; new connecting road between Via Tatarella and Via Matarrese; new circulation loop between Via Solarino and Via Cotugno; reorganisation of Polipark car park entrances/exits; doubling of the FAL Bari Policlinico line, elimination of the Via delle Murge level crossing. To date, therefore, for all these interventions the Puglia Region has allocated a total of 24.5 million euros.

Click here to view the video of the new overpass