The collapse that occurred on the national axis of the Librazhd-Përrenjas road, near the village of Dragostunjë, is expected to take a long time, at best several months of work, if the procedures and standards in force are followed, an engineer within the ARRSH, who preferred to remain anonymous due to his position, told "Monitor".
The defect requires a completely new engineering solution to stabilize and repair, as the infrastructure specialist considered the damage the most serious to have occurred recently.
According to him, there are two solutions. The first is to build a new viaduct, which requires a lot of time and changing the design from the beginning, or the other solution is to erode the collapsed mass of soil to its foundations.
The ANK company, which was contracted to carry out the works, is considering the second option by eroding the soil and then making a new route.
But the collapsed mass involves large volumes of work and still takes a lot of time. All repair options require several months, said the engineer, who added that an emergency crossing could be opened, but it is not safe for heavy vehicles and trucks.
According to preliminary technical assessments, the latest landslide is entirely induced and directly related to subsequent interventions in the area, including works for segments of the Corridor VIII highway.
The ARA expert said that field interventions have significantly aggravated the rock massif and created additional pressure on the existing road structure.
The interventions have burdened the shoulders of the road, while the foundations have been eroded by the use of river material, a solution that is considered wrong from an engineering point of view and has contributed to the destabilization of the terrain.
The bridge that collapsed was built in 1997 and was in very good condition before the recent interventions, which strengthens the elements that the current damage is related to the interventions of the new phases of works in the area.
The expert warned that stabilizing the massif and restoring safety on this axis will require in-depth geotechnical interventions and considerable time, due to the complexity of the terrain and the extent of the damage. The solution takes time, as not only the road surface has been damaged, but the entire massif on which it rests has been destabilized.
For this type of damage, a new geological and geotechnical study is first required. The movement of the massif, the groundwater level, lateral pressures and the long-term stability of the slope must be analyzed in depth. This phase requires time for measurement, monitoring and design of the solution, said the engineer.
The massif's foundations have been eroded and now deeper retaining walls, piles, new drainage or even partial diversion of the route are needed. These interventions are not quick and take time, he added.
According to him, the complexity of the mountainous terrain complicates the solutions. The Elbasan-Librazhd axis passes through areas with unstable geological formations. Any intervention must be done carefully so as not to cause other chain movements. Such projects require a review of funds, new tendering or emergency procedures, which usually take a long time, he said.
If the solution is not complete and structural, the risk of recurrence remains high. He said that in the most optimistic case, the repair will take 6 months to a year.
The current Librazhd–Qukës segment, 25 kilometers long, was completed in 2001 by the Mavrovo company, which had built roads in the republics of the former Yugoslavia. The works were supervised by the Italian company Lotus, which itself has been a school for supervision companies in Albania due to the high standards it demanded from the builders in the works process.
Although the road has not had routine maintenance, as required by standards, it and the bridge that collapsed were in very good condition before work began on the new axis of Corridor VIII./ Monitor
