Tirana-Elbasan highway tunnel ready by 2012

TIRANA, Nov. 1 – Government announced on Monday the launch of an international tender to build a tunnel linking capital Tirana and neighbouring Elbasan in the shortest possible way.
The tunnel, whose tender will be declared open next November, is expected to be completed within 18 months once the contract has been signed and possibly open to traffic within 2012, one year before the mandate of the ruling coalition expires in order to avoid electoral campaign claims, said Prime Minister Sali Berisha in a meeting with his Democratic Party lawmakers this week.
The Tirana-Elbasan highway will be the first segment of southern road axis and an important hub of the Corridor 8 project with Italy, Macedonia and Bulgaria.
The highway, expected to cut the distance to Elbasan to 31 kilometres, down from 48 currently, will have four lanes and two tunnels, 2.3 and 2.1 km long each, saving passengers to the central Albanian city of Elbasan 40 minutes compared to the current mountainous road.
It is considered the biggest infrastructural project government intends to build in this four-year term after the Durres-Kukes-Morine highway linking Albania to Kosovo, whose works were only completed last month after the opening of the second Thirra tunnel.
PM Berisha says the excellent European Commission-funded design project for the tunnel’s construction, will be implemented by prestigious companies because of the route’s fragile geology. He is optimistic the tunnel’s reconstruction works will start next February, exactly three years from the launch ceremony for the opening of the 5.5-km Thirre tunnel, part of the Rreshen-Kalimash highway, which cut travel time to and from Kosovo from six to two hours, boosting trade and tourism.
Government says it will borrow from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to finance the Tirana-Elbasan highway. The project is expected to cost around 300 million euros.
The highway, considered the first segment of southern road axis, will have four lanes, seven overpasses and four underpasses through a mountainous route, according to the Transport Ministry. Designed to follow the shortest possible trajectory, the new highway will have a maximum speed of 110 km/h, taking passengers only 15 to 20 minutes to arrive in Elbasan.
The construction of the Tirana-Elbasan highway has also been listed as a top priority in the 2011 draft budget along with several other important national and secondary roads.