Translated material
Failure at the Bolshoi
The capital's government denies the involvement of the Bolshoi Theater reconstruction in the accident on Teatralnaya Square
The reconstruction of the Bolshoi Theater (for which, according to the Accounts Chamber, 16 times more budget funds were spent than was originally planned) over the weekend “rose in price” by at least another hundred thousand rubles. Judging by the statement from Mosvodokanal, it was the protracted “excavations” that caused the pipeline breakthrough that happened on Friday, due to which it was necessary to block traffic from the Bolshoi Theater to the Boulevard Ring for three hours and limit the traffic flow on Okhotny Ryad, which is why even without Moreover, the overloaded center of the capital came to a standstill. The restrictions were lifted only on Saturday.As the press service of Mosvodokanal told reporters, the accident became known at about 16:00 - “a message was transmitted about a strong outflow of water in the parking lot near the theater.” Emergency crews arrived at the Bolshoi Theater half an hour later. At five to seven in the evening, emergency workers began excavation work, for which they had to turn off the water to the damaged pipeline, however, as representatives of the capital's public utilities assured, the surrounding buildings were not left without water.
Later it was found out that the immediate cause of the overflow was a fracture of a cast iron pipe laid 17 years ago. About two meters of the pipeline were damaged; emergency workers promptly replaced this section with a “steel pipe with the installation of two couplings,” and the damaged pipe was sent for examination.
Representatives of the municipal department hastened to reassure Muscovites, disavowing earlier reports that huge masses of water from the destroyed pipeline could flood the underground premises of the Bolshoi Theater and even penetrate the tunnels and communications of the metro. But only the basement of another theater, the Maly, was flooded.
Directly at the site of the accident, the soil collapsed - a one and a half meter deep hole measuring approximately 8 x 8 m was formed here. As the participants in the emergency work assured the Interfax agency, the failure was filled in and the damaged roadway was being promptly restored.
Analyzing the incident, Mosvodokanal experts suggest that a man-made emergency could have occurred due to work on “building a pit” for the Bolshoi Theater - a hole is being dug in close proximity to existing pipelines and other communications. Excavation work could cause decompaction and soil movement. Alexey Suprunov, general director of the Intex company (Summa Capital), the structure that owns the general contractor for the reconstruction of the Bolshoi Theater, said on Friday that everything is calm at the construction site, no water has broken through.
Let us note that the assumption that reconstruction work could have been to blame for the accident was quickly refuted by the Moscow authorities. “The incident has nothing to do with the work at the Bolshoi Theater,” Vladimir Resin, first deputy mayor in the Moscow government and curator of the capital’s construction complex, told RIA Novosti. Let us note that the deputy mayor admitted that the cause of the pipeline rupture has not been established.
On Saturday, in parallel with the liquidation of the consequences of the emergency (which was taken over by another first deputy mayor, the head of the municipal services complex, Petr Biryukov), a presentation of the new, permanent foundation of the reconstructed building took place. “There was a big victory at the Bolshoi Theater today,” Mr. Resin said on this occasion. “The theater has been placed in its permanent place with virtually no deviations.” Now, Yuri Luzhkov’s first deputy stated with satisfaction, it is possible to “begin the reconstruction of the Bolshoi at full speed.” By the end of October, the building's contour should be closed - before the cold weather begins, it is necessary to ensure waterproofing of the floors of the underground part of the theater, Mr. Resin explained. And as the curator of the construction complex assured, the reconstruction should be completed as planned - by October 11, 2011.
It should be recalled that this is not the first announced completion date for the Bolshoi renovation. The Bolshoi Theater was closed for reconstruction in 2005. At first, it was planned to open the theater, which was closed for renovation, this year, then this date was postponed to 2010, and now the finale has been pushed back another year. The initial estimate was 98 million rubles, but, as it turned out during an audit by the Accounts Chamber, under additional agreements the contractors received much more - 1.6 billion rubles. It also turned out that the management of the Bolshoi... paid three times to a certain JSC Kurortproekt for the same work - design and preparation of working documentation, and the last time this service was valued at 497 million. After the Investigative Committee under the Prosecutor's Office opened case of overspending of budget funds, the Ministry of Culture stated that all responsibility for this act lies with the former leadership of the theater management, and she was fired last year.