Autostrada A3 (Albania)

Autostrada A3 in Albania
map
Basic data
Operator:	Autoriteti Rrugor Shqiptar
Overall length:	approx. 110 km
of which in operation:	30.7 km
of which in planning:	approx. 79 km
Qarqe :	Tirana County Elbasan Qark
Course of the road Continue on the Unaza e Madhe bypass (0)  Sauk ( Rruga Selim Brahja ) (1.6)  Sauk ( Rruga Haxhi Dushku ) (2.7)  Tirana East Gate (3.1)  Viaduct (214 m) (3.6)  Viaduct (358 m) (5.4)  Mullet (7.8)  Viaduct (214 m) (9,027)  Bërzhita (11.5)  Viaduct (466 m) (12.8)  Viaduct (178 m) (13.2)  Viaduct (70 m) (14,008)  Krraba (14.2)  Viaduct (178 m) (15.4)  Viaduct (286 m) (15.7)  Viaduct (292 m) (16.6)  Tuneli i Krrabës (2,265 m) (18.9)  Viaduct (214 m) (19.3)  Viaduct (106 m) (19.8)  Bridge (228 m) (20.5)  Viaduct (430 m) (21.3)  Viaduct (214 m) (21.8)  Viaduct (179 m) (22.7)  Dopoja (22.8)  Viaduct (178 m) (25.5)  Viaduct (266 m) (26.8)  Viaduct (286 m) (30.70)  Shijon (31.17)  Elbasan Advises Tepelena Under construction In planning

The Autostrada A3 or Autostradë A3 ( Albanian for 'Autobahn A3') is an Albanian motorway and runs as a central corridor from Tirana to Elbasan (31.17 km) and thus connecting Tirana with the Pan-European Transport Corridor VIII . This section of the route consists of 21 viaducts and the Krraba tunnel with a length of 2.2 kilometers. In the long term, further construction via Berat to Tepelena in southern Albania (approx. 79 km) is planned.

meaning

The section from Tirana to Elbasan replaces the long SH3 pass road over the Krraba pass . The new motorway offers heavy traffic an alternative to the 80-kilometer detour via Durrës via Rrogozhina . In addition, the new route is approx. 15 kilometers shorter than the pass road, so that together with the significantly higher speed, the travel time between Tirana and Elbasan is drastically reduced. Central Albania and the south-east of the country will be better connected to the capital region.

From an economic point of view, once the extension to Tepelena has been completed, it will also be an important link between the Albanian capital, southern Albania and Greece. South of Tepelena, the SH4  has already been developed into a powerful expressway, so that there is already a good connection to the Greek border.

Route

Before the actual A3, the south-west bypass of Tirana (alb. Unaza e madhe e Tiranës ) will lead from the SH2 at the beginning of the route. It has already been opened to traffic on the section between Sauk and Kombinati, but the rest of the connection through Tirana still has to be expanded.

The A3 begins in the suburb of Sauk south of the Great Park , a little west of the SH3 . From there the new road runs parallel to SH3 for about three kilometers until it crosses it in a roundabout. As a result, she passed a hill in a deep cut that was bypassed by the SH3 to the west.

The motorway then runs north of the SH3 parallel to it in the valley of the Erzen past the places Mullet , Dobresh and Bërzhita , until it then swings towards Krraba near Mushquta and leaves both the Erzen and the SH3. At Krraba, on the border of Qarqe Tirana and Elbasan, the approx. 2200 meter long Krraba tunnel begins through the ridge of the Kodrat e Krrabës ( Krraba hills ).

Behind the tunnel and the mountain range, the motorway continues in the valley of the Kusha River towards Elbasan, where it meets the SH3 again at Bradashesh- Shijon and from kilometer 30.7 to the end of the new line at the existing roundabout with the SH7 on the railway line Durrës – Rrogozhina – Elbasan – Gur i kuq runs on its route at kilometer 31.165.

Construction work

Route a little south of the tunnel during construction of the second carriageway

The construction costs are given at US $ 335.2 million, 35.1 million more than originally estimated. Donors were the Islamic Development Bank , the OPEC Fund for International Development and an Abu Dhabi Fund .

South of the entrance to the Krraba tunnel

On April 29, 2011, construction work on the Krraba tunnel began. Work on the rest of the route began on February 16, 2012, after the contracts with the construction companies Aktor and Copri had been signed on February 14 . The end of construction for the entire motorway was planned for spring 2013.

While only around a quarter of the construction work on the tunnel was carried out at the end of November 2011, by mid-February 2012 it was already half. On June 16, 2013 - in the middle of the election campaign for the parliamentary elections - the tunnel and sections of the A3 motorway from Tirana to Elbasan were officially opened by Prime Minister Sali Berisha ( PD ). For the time being, however, only one lane per tube was released.

There were years of delays in the construction work because it was unclear who would pay the additional costs for extensive security work in the steep terrain between Tirana and Krraba. It was not until 2016 that another donor was found in a fund from Abu Dhabi, so that construction work could be resumed.

In Sauk, from the southwest bypass to Tirana East Gate , around three kilometers of the road is ready and open to traffic. Between Tirana East Gate and Bërzhita / Iba, traffic is allowed on a lane with two-way traffic.

In the summer of 2017, the section between Tirana East Gate and Mullet was opened to traffic on one lane. The stretch from the tunnel to Bradashesh (Shijon) was completed with two two-lane carriageways. In September 2017, the south-west bypass of Tirana from the lake to Rruga e Kavajës was opened, so that the A3 is now better connected to the SH2 . In March 2019, the last section from Iba to Krraba was opened to traffic on a lane with two-way traffic; The second lane followed at the beginning of June 2019.

To protect the road from falling rocks and landslides, a 150-meter-long gallery was built a few kilometers south of the tunnel over the eastern lane , which was completed in April 2019.

costs

The total costs for the section from Tirana to Elbasan should amount to 440 million euros. The financing is partly taken over by the Islamic Development Bank .

Web links

Commons : Autostrada A3  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Prezantohet projekti teknik i autostradës Tirana - Elbasan. In: Ministry of Transport. March 11, 2010, archived from the original on August 4, 2012 ; Retrieved February 28, 2011 (Albanian). 
2. ↑ Eriona Ymeri, Tirana Observer: Projekti i plotë i autostradës Tiranë - Elbasan. In: Peshku pa ujë. March 19, 2010, accessed February 1, 2016 (Albanian). 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Arlinda Gjonaj: Autostrada Tiranë-Elbasan përfundon në dhjetor. In: Albanian Telegraph Agency. July 28, 2017, Retrieved September 9, 2017 (Albanian). 
4. ↑ Nisin punimet për tunelin Tiranë-Elbasan , last accessed on May 3, 2011 (Albanian)
5. ↑ ^{a b} Hapen ofertat ekonomike për autostradën Tiranë-Elbasan. In: Lajme.gen.al. March 3, 2011, accessed September 18, 2019 (Albanian). 
6. ↑ Tiranë-Elbasan, nisin punimet , last accessed on April 29, 2011 (Albanian)
7. ↑ ^{a b} Ledion Veshi: Tirana-Elbasan Highway Ready in Spring 2013, Albanian Transportation Minister Says. In: Balkans.com. February 14, 2012, archived from the original on July 15, 2014 ; accessed on February 19, 2012 (English).  
8. ↑ Tuneli i Krrabës Berisha Ne i përgjigjemi shpifjeve me vepra , last accessed on November 20, 2011 (Albanian)
9. ↑ Hapet autostrada Tiranë-Elbasan (Tirana - Elbasan motorway opens). Top Channel , June 16, 2013, accessed October 14, 2013 (Albanian). 
10. ↑ Rruga Tirana-Elbasan përfundon në të qershor 2017. In: Gazeta Dita. August 26, 2016, Retrieved September 9, 2017 (Albanian). 
11. ^ Saga e Tiranë-Elbasan, hapet njëri segment i aksit rrugor. In: ABC News. March 14, 2019, accessed April 29, 2019 (Albanian). 
12. ↑ Ministria e Infrastrukturës dhe Energjisë: video contribution. In: Facebook. June 4, 2019, Retrieved June 5, 2019 (Albanian). 
13. ↑ D. Xh .: Përfundon ndërtimi i tunelit panoramik në aksin Tiranë - Elbasan. In: BalkanWeb. April 28, 2019, Retrieved April 29, 2019 (Albanian). 
14. ↑ Fatos Salliu: Hapet autostrada Elbasan – Tiranë, lëvizja e automjeteve në dy anët e saj. In: ABC News. April 20, 2019, Retrieved April 29, 2019 (Albanian). 
15. ↑ Islamic Development Bank approves USD 511 million for mega projects