The expansion of the Tirana-Durres road fails!

2024-04-17 15:15:27Investigim SHKRUAR NGA ESMERALDA TOPI
Former director of the Albanian Road Authority, Evis Berberi

At the end of last year, the former director of the Albanian Road Authority, Evis Berberi , promised that work on the expansion of the Tirana-Durrës road would begin this spring.

Faktoje 's verifications show that field work has not yet started, but in the meantime the Road Authority has opened the tender for the first phase of the project.

According to ARRSH, the expansion of the first 5 km of the Tirana-Durres axis will start within this year. 

When the government returned to the plans for the expansion of the Tirana - Durrës road at the end of last year, the director of the Albanian Road Authority promised that the works would start in the spring. 

"We are anticipating its start in the spring of next year, that is, with the budgeting of 2024," said Evis Berberi in various television appearances at the end of last year. 

verification 

On the ground, there is no sign of works for the intervention that envisages the expansion of the Tirana - Durrës axis. The Albanian Road Authority announces that the works are expected to start within this year, unlike what was promised last year. 

"Works on the expansion of the Tirana - Durrës road are expected to begin within 2024," states the ARRSH in an official response to Faktoje, while clarifying that it was the first phase of the road expansion. 

"The value of the financing of this phase is 2,000,000,000 Lek including VAT and is provided for in the 2024 budget." - continued ARRSH. 

The works for the expansion of the 38 km axis will be divided into several phases. The first intervention includes the segment from the Kamza bend to the Rinas overpass - 5.8 km long. 

"The current width is 18.6 m and the final width together with the expansion goes to 35.1 m", explains the Road Authority. 

According to ARRSH, the project for the expansion of 38 km from Tirana to Durrës requires a total of 218 million euros. 

Tender for the expansion 
At the beginning of this month, the Albanian Road Authority opened the tender for two phases of this road. According to the documents published in the Public Procurement Agency, the limit fund of the tender for the first phase is 16 million euros, while the term of works will be 24 months.

The expansion of the Tirana-Durres road fails!
The tender for the expansion of the Tirana - Durrës highway (Phase I)

With the same limit fund, the tender for the second phase of the Tirana-Durres highway was opened.

The expansion of the Tirana-Durres road fails!
The tender for the expansion of the Tirana - Durrës highway (Phase II)

Referring to the documents of the Public Procurement Agency, the deadline for submitting and opening bids is May 8. 

Emergency intervention 

The Tirana - Durrës highway connects the two largest centers of the country, Tirana as the capital and Durrës as the main port and tourist destination. The road, built in 2001, now counts three times the planned traffic.

For this reason, experts consider it necessary to intervene to make the road four lanes. 

The expansion of the Tirana-Durres road fails!


" The widening of the road is necessary, but I see the biggest problem in the entrances and exits of this segment. So the start and finish of it, how much will they afford because we go to the bottle neck and what did we gain? Nothing. Therefore, the expansion plan must definitely include entrances and exits to the secondary roads ", says engineer Fatmir Haxho. 

Also, the design study for the Tirana - Durrës highway points out the necessity of its expansion due to the heavy traffic. 

"Exactly this continuous increase in traffic has made it necessary to study the expansion of this highway to bring it to the necessary parameters to cope with the increasingly heavy traffic," it is written in the general technical report. 

"But not only that, because for years in this road segment there has been damage to the road layers, cracks, damage, subsidence and potholes for a considerable length on both sides of the road, and especially in the side lanes of Vora - Durra.", it is emphasized. further the technical report on road widening. 

cONcluSiON 

Works on the expansion of the road connecting Tirana with Durrës will start within this year.

Although the field work has not yet started, the Road Authority has opened the tender for the first phase of the project.

Therefore, we will categorize the promise of the former director of ARRSH Evis Berberi as partially kept. 


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