Location Vlorë, Albania
Client Albanian Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy
Services Construction Management
Project Value €168 Million
As leader of an international consortium, Hill is providing supervision and project management services for the Albanian Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy’s Llogara Tunnel project.
Located on Albania’s southwestern coast in Vlorë County, the €168 million project will provide motorists a way under the Llogara pass. The new tunnel will reduce the driving time from Vlorë to Sarandë by approximately 40 minutes, improve roadway safety conditions, and facilitate increased tourism in the region. Work is expected to conclude in Q3 2024.
The tunnel and adjacent route comprise 7.42 km. The tunnel length is 6 km and features a main tube to support bi-directional traffic with one lane per direction and lay-by niches every 500 meters with cross passages. The project also includes a 6-km parallel emergency escape tunnel of the same cross-section as the main tube. The adjoining roadway includes two reinforced earth embankments at the southern access. The tunnel will have a maximum overburden of approximately 900 meters.
The project team will use the conventional New Austrian Tunnel Method (NATM) method to construct the tunnel. The prevailing geological feature is expected to be slightly to highly fractured limestone. The team also anticipates cataclastic fault zones with soil-type ground conditions. The groundwater level is approximately 20 m above the tunnel. The ventilation system is a longitudinal system, controlled by a supervisory control and data acquisition system fed by various sensors. The control building is located at the north portal.