The Age,
27 April, 2007
The Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona is under threat from a planed bullet train that is to pass just 2 metres from Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece.
A high speed link between Madrid and Barcelona has been approved by the Mayor of Barcelona, the Catalan Premier and the public works ministry, but is still waiting approval from the national government.
Gaudi started his cathedral 120 years ago which is now a UNESCO world heritage site. The tunnel would pass 10 metres below the cathedral; however it is the underground protective barrier that comes within 2 metres of the buildings foundations.
The worry is that the 200,000 tonne cathedral could cause the excavated ground to compress or shift, resulting in a movement in the foundations causing the cathedral to crack and eventually crumble.
Architects and engineers from around the world are up in arms about the proposal, some describing it as a ‘thoughtless act of vandalism’.
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