Residents affected by the L9 metro works sinkhole in Putxet have asked the Generalitat, Catalonia's regional government, to delay the tunnel boring machine's planned restart until after Christmas, according to El Periódico's report published on Friday 16 October.

The request matters particularly to households still evacuated from buildings near the works. The machine is expected to advance only 20 to 30 metres when it restarts, stopping at a maintenance station before later continuing towards Lesseps, about one kilometre away. Residents fear that a further ground incident during the Christmas period would disrupt family gatherings and one of the busiest trading periods for local shops.

The tunnel boring machine has been stopped around 40 metres underground since the sinkhole on 7 July. El Periódico reported that the Generalitat has not set a confirmed restart date because technicians are still completing and assessing work intended to improve ground conditions.

Several households remain evacuated

By the end of August, technicians had authorised residents to return to 54 of the 87 homes affected by the sinkhole, the newspaper reported. People living at number 5 on Carrer de Teodora Lamadrid were also allowed back between late September and early October.

Other residents remain out of their homes after a crack appeared in the subsoil beneath number 2 on Carrer de Rubinstein at the end of July. The buildings still evacuated are:

  • number 2, Carrer de Rubinstein;
  • number 4, Carrer de Rubinstein;
  • number 3, Carrer de Teodora Lamadrid.

If the planned late-year schedule is maintained, the machine could resume before those households are cleared to return. The residents' request is for work to resume once the Christmas holiday period has passed, rather than during it.

Compensation claims filed on 9 October

The restart question coincides with a collective compensation claim by most of those affected. They have appointed lawyer Carmen Pérez-Pozo Toledano, who handled a case connected to the Carmel metro works two decades ago, to seek damages from the Generalitat.

According to El Periódico, Pérez-Pozo filed the requested compensation amounts on Friday 9 October. The parties are awaiting a response that could allow an agreement without court proceedings.

Pérez-Pozo has also requested an independent technical assessment in meetings with the Generalitat. Residents regard an outside evaluation of the damage as necessary because they do not trust assessments commissioned by the administration, the newspaper reported.

Ground work continues before any restart

El Periódico reported that the three-month pause has included cement injections to reinforce the ground, regular technical inspections, monitoring for movement and continuing consolidation work. The newspaper said the measures are intended to provide suitable ground conditions before the machine moves again.

The L9 project has already faced repeated delays, and the July incident has added another interruption. For residents of the three still-evacuated addresses, the immediate position remains unchanged: they have not yet been authorised to return home while the Generalitat awaits the final technical assessment of the ground works.

Reported by elperiodico.com, El Periódico, El Periódico Barcelona.