Spanish National Court refuses to hear case about construction under Sagrada Família

The National Court of Spain refuses to hear a case asking that the construction of the high-speed rail next to the Sagrada Familia Church be halted • It sees no urgency in stopping it

The National Court of Spain refused the petition of the Construction Board of the Sagrada Familia to stop, as a precaution, the construction on the tunnel for the high-speed rail that will go under Mallorca Street. The court considers that there are no "imperatives of urgency" that would justify such a measure; the board, in contrast, warns that the pylons of the protective wall were being installed only 4 feet from the foundations of the temple, and not 6 feet as the project itself called for.

The director of the construction project explained to the court that there was a slight discrepancy between the axis of the tunnel with respect to the axis of Mallorca Street — that is, the axis that is equidistant from both sides. In this stretch, the distance between the edges varies from 67 to 85 centimeters (some 26 to 33 inches). Because of that, the protection wall is being built at a distance that varies from 1.95 m (76 3/4 inches) and 1.15m (45 inches) from the foundation of the Façana de la Glòria [Glory Façade, that is, the side of the church that faces Mallorca Street].

This is the third time that the National Court of Spain decides not to suspend the construction in the open legal case against the location of the high-speed rail.

Originally published in VilaWeb on 30 Oct 2009 at 17:07h