18:13 18/11/2022
Prime Minister Edi Rama has inspected the works for the opening of the Llogara tunnel that will significantly shorten the access to the south coast. Accompanied by the Minister of Infrastructure Belinda Balluku and MP Blendi Klosi, the head of the government was informed that by Friday morning 4 kilometers and 650 meters have been opened.
Minister Balluku emphasized that according to the forecasts that have been made, it is expected that the tunnel will finally open at the end of February, and then the other parts of the works will be completed.
“Despite the fact that the contract is for 33 months and we started in November of last year when we also started the inauguration of the works, it is expected to end before the deadline. According to all the forecasts and the progress we have made so far, we want to see the light at the end of February. So the tunnel will finally be opened for 6 kilometers and then the whole part of the completions in terms of electromechanical interventions will begin, since as you can see, the arming is done while the other groups continue and open from Dukat’s side, here they are working to close the entire part of the clothing “, said the Minister of Infrastructure.
As stipulated in the European manual of technical parameters, the main tunnel is connected in parallel with another tunnel that serves as an emergency.
But Minister Balluku emphasized that if the flow of tourists to the south will be greater, then it is foreseen that the emergency tunnel will also be put to use for the circulation of vehicles when necessary.
“We are located in the main tunnel, which will be the one where vehicles will pass. Meanwhile, emergency tunnels and according to all European technical parameters, any tunnel that is greater than 500 meters needs the accompanying emergency tunnel. But it must be said that the emergency tunnel is being worked on in such conditions that in case we have an increase in traffic volumes, we have the possibility for that tunnel to turn into another main tunnel to divide the traffic, i.e. into 2 passing tunnels. According to the entire feasibility study that was also done here with an international competition, everyone remembers that we started the project 1 year before, we did the international competition, then an Austrian company did the whole detailed project, so we have a forecast of traffic, which is enough with this tunnel, but in the future, given all the development that the south is taking, including all the hotel units that are being built, in the future we will have the opportunity to use that tunnel that has been erected as emergency tunnel to return to the second tube for the passage of vehicles“, Minister Balluku declared.
There are still 1.2 kilometers left until the final opening of the Llogara tunnel. The Llogara tunnel will have a length of nearly 6 kilometers, which starts from the Saint Eliza bridge in the Dukat area and ends at the Palasa bridge. /broread