When a country is getting a new motorway, often it means an
upgrade or addition to an existing network of highways. But the new
highway traversing Albania from the Adriatic Sea to its north east
border with Kosovo is a real first.

It will be the country’s first four-lane motorway and is by far the largest infrastructure project it has ever embarked on.

Along
the full length of the 171km route from Durres to Morine is a 61km long
central leg from Rrëshen to Kalimash. This chunk of the project has had
many of its own firsts as contractors have had to work hard to meet the
opening date scheduled for later this month.

A vital connection

The
motorway will create a vital connection with Durres, which is
considered to be the Balkans’ main port. The official line is that the
new road will cut journey times from there to Kosovo from six hours to
two.

But that only tells half the story. A substantial part of
the existing Durres to Morine route meanders precariously, through
dramatic mountainscapes. Uncomfortably close to the road are sheer
drops down to the valley. These and numerous hairpin bends keep a tight
rein on speed. In winter many parts are completely blocked.

Albanians close to the project told NCE
that the six hour journey can become an even more painful 10 hour trip.
Many prefer the alternative − despite visa issues − and take a detour
eastwards through Macedonia to avoid the treacherous drive.

The
61km central section breaks down into three sections (see map). Which
is just as well because there is a wealth of work being carried out
simultaneously along the route to complete a medley of structures
including an impressive 4.4km of 29 bridges, 5.5km of dual tube tunnel
and 6.4km of retaining walls.

One
person who appreciates the importance of the road is Ylli Gjoni. He is
director of the project implementation team and deputy general director
for client, Albania’s General Road Directorate, which represents the
country’s Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Telecommunication.

“The
idea for the project goes back a long way,” says Gjoni. “Even back to
before the 1990s. But then it was only for a single carriageway and
that was even ruled out as too expensive.”

An idea revisited

The
project dates back to 1988 but was initially ruled out as too
expensive. It was revisited in the mid-1990s following the country’s
shift from Communist rule to becoming a democracy but faced more
delays, particularly when the war in neighbouring Kosovo diverted
attention in the late 1990s.

Eventually the World Bank became
involved and provided the kick-start the scheme desperately needed when
it agreed in 2002 to finance a feasibility study. The following year a
joint venture between Mott MacDonald and Italian consultant Technique
carried out a study for a single carriageway.

In 2004, the
Albanian government decided to commission detailed designs for what
would be the easiest portion − the stretch south west of Rrëshen and
another stretching north from Kalimash.

The
government introduced a road tax in 2005 to help pay for the scheme.
The same year work began on a relatively easy section, 26km south west
of the central portion, with the government enlisting the army to carry
out earthworks. In 2006 a long period of discussions between the
government and the World Bank followed. This led to the decision to
increase capacity from a single to a dual carriageway.

The World
Bank is now financing a portion leading to Rrëshen, where the 61km
central leg is being paid for with money from the government and with
loans from private investors and international banks. The government is
mostly financing the portion north of Kalimash with a smaller
contribution coming from Islamic Bank.

Challenging terrain and soaring costs

Despite
early feasibility studies, nothing could fully prepare the team for
what lay ahead. The ground varies dramatically from rock that is in
small parts competent to that which is variable and frequently
fractured or shattered.

The joint venture committed to a contract
based on unit costs − fixed prices were calculated for each part of the
work and then multiplied by the volume of work. Although unusual in
Albania, Bechtel and Enka had experience of working this way and
general road directorate deputy general director Ylli Gjoni says it was
the only way to make the project work with such a short programme.

But
costs soared. Based on its experience of what it thought were similar
schemes, Bechtel-Enka put an initial price tag on the work of about
€420M (£365M). But in early 2007, the complexity of the project became
apparent and the eventual cost looked to be closer to double that
figure.

“My goal was a timely delivery and cost savings,” says
Gjoni. “There was friction in the beginning and no one was confident
that it would work. It was difficult to get everyone to understand the
process of working together [to keep the costs down].

“What I am
proud of is managing big contractors and big designers to produce
something that is sustainable, and while subject to change, we now have
running costs that are closer to €750M (£645M) − we’ve managed to save
€100M (£86M).”

Building on a grander scale

Gjoni says it
was during discussions with the World Bank that the government decided
to build on a grander scale. The mountainous terrain and the fact much
of the route is uncharted territory meant it would be virtually
impossible to go back and widen the road later. “We decided that if we
were going to do this, we would do it only once,” he says. So the
project got an upgrade from a single carriageway to a dual carriageway.

“The
key to this motorway is to alleviate poverty,” he adds. “There is an
economic rationale behind it and it will have a direct economic benefit
to Albanians and Kosovans from trade, development and tourism of €50M
(£44M) a year − which is going to increase. It is being built with the
expectation that it will be able to pay itself off in 10 years.”

The
directorate awarded Bechtel the role of main contractor in an equal
joint venture (JV) partnership with Turkish contractor Enka for the
61km central leg of the project in September 2006. The partnership was
not a first as the firms had worked together on two other roads
projects − one a 415km motorway in Romania and the other a 200km
highway in Croatia.

The need to make the project start paying its
way as soon as possible has dictated a new pressure for the project
team. “It’s a two and a half year contract where normally this kind of
project would take six years,” says Gjoni. “But Bechtel sold itself on
this ability to manage itself and committed to that programme − in very
challenging conditions.”

“We do lots of these kinds of highway
jobs, like in Croatia, but the terrain is so different and the
timescales are so tight, which makes this so much more complex and
challenging,” says Bechtel-Enka prime contract manager Darren Mort.

Moving forward with gusto

So
work started with gusto on site in May 2007, leaving just over two
years to complete all the construction work to enable the whole 61km
stretch to be open − at least as a single carriageway in each direction
− later this month.

This central part of the route cuts through
one of the poorest, most isolated parts of the country. The beautiful
countryside is the backdrop to a predominantly agricultural community
that is otherwise unspoilt, meaning little was previously known about
the ground conditions. These ground conditions have been behind a
wealth of challenges facing the team.

Zitat: Admin


Was wurde eigentlich aus der "neuen" Autobahn? Hat sie jemand von Euch schonmal benutzt? Habt Ihr die Vorteile genossen oder meint Ihr, es war reine Geldverschwendung?

ich bin die Autobahn letzten September gefahren, das heißt gefahren worden. Gut ich war schneller in Rreshen, aber die Schäden durch Erdrutsche usw. sind enorm und ich hab noch NIE so wenig Verkehr auf einer Áutobahm gesehen....also wirtschaftlicher Faktor...vielleicht in ein paar Jahren, aber bisher ausser Spesen nichts gewesen

Zitat: michi


ich bin die Autobahn letzten September gefahren, das heißt gefahren worden. Gut ich war schneller in Rreshen, aber die Schäden durch Erdrutsche usw. sind enorm und ich hab noch NIE so wenig Verkehr auf einer Áutobahm gesehen....also wirtschaftlicher Faktor...vielleicht in ein paar Jahren, aber bisher ausser Spesen nichts gewesen Ich bin davon überzeugt, wenn jeder Jin Shin Jyustu anwenden würde auf der Welt....gäbe es keine Kriege !!!!