In the area of the natural park of Viroi in Gjirokastër, the works have started for the construction of a new bridge parallel to an existing bridge that was flooded during the winter and brought problems for this important road segment.
The project is part of a program for the sustainability of bridges in Albania, undertaken by the Albanian government with a loan from the World Bank, worth about 100 million dollars, which is expected to last seven years.
"The implementation project is important as it creates a new bridge with standards while the existing bridge will serve as a panoramic promenade around the lake," says engineer Aristotel Noni at the Regional Road Authority.
"The main objectives that this project solves are: First, it solves the geometric problem of the road, since we are currently dealing with a very narrow road with very unfavorable geometric parameters. A new, modern road with satisfactory geometric parameters will be built. Secondly, it solves the problem of flooding, since in this area for many years there have been very big problems, until the blocking of the national road segment during intense rains. Third, it solves the problem of pedestrian crossing. The area, being a Natural Monument, has high visitation and with the construction of the new bridge, the old bridge will be used for pedestrians who come around the lake easily after the completion of this project," he says.
According to the World Bank Office in Albania, the program will intervene in the first 30 bridges that have immediate needs, while about 800 thousand inhabitants have a direct benefit.
Bridges where intervention is expected according to the World Bank assessment require major rehabilitation, improvements or reconstruction from scratch.
Engineer Noni says that some bridges in the Gjirokastra District need intervention, while another bridge in the Dragot area is also beneficial within the framework of this program in this district.
"There are problems and depreciation in some bridges, mainly some metal bridges located in our District such as Dragotti Bridge and Lekli Bridge. From our side, requests have been made continuously for the rehabilitation of these bridges or for the diversion of the road through the new Tepelen-Dragot axis."
The Albanian government undertook the sustainable bridges program after the 2019 earthquake, assessing that 80 important bridges in the country had priority for intervention as they had a traffic rate of 100 to 2500 vehicles per day and major problems with their amortization.
The condition of many of the bridges assessed by experts "proved weakness and danger due to their deteriorating structural conditions or in areas affected by natural disasters or climate change".
But while the implementation of interventions is starting for important road bridges, cultural heritage experts estimate that dozens of cultural monument bridges are endangered in different areas of Albania due to the damage they have suffered over the years and the lack of maintenance.
Bridges serve small communities of residents but also cultural and natural tourism, says Geri Emiri, who runs the "Amfora" Center, which has undertaken an initiative to protect these bridges.
"We see that throughout the territory of Albania there are various problems with bridges that are Cultural Monuments. During the winter, they suffer various damages and the cultural authorities clearly seem to prepare the projects, but then the restoration interventions are missing", he says.
The Emir further says that a greater awareness is needed for the protection of monumental bridges, as a rare asset of Albania.
"The damage and destruction of some of these bridges, which are also Cultural Monuments, has also interrupted the communication of the residents of these areas. This is one more reason for them to abandon the villages and therefore, apart from the Cultural Monuments, we see a total abandonment, as well as the loss of a part of our historical heritage."
In addition to the road authority and the National Institute of Cultural Heritage, local governments also have their responsibilities in the maintenance of bridges, especially rural ones, but many of the municipalities say that they have no financial means to financially cover the interventions.
Taken from "Voice of America"
