Until a few months ago, the river Fan i Vogel had become a major problem for Mirdite. In January this year, the river overflowed due to rainfall and changed its course, thus endangering the lives of residents in the village Mashtërkor of Orosh, and damaged thousands of farmland, the main pipes of water supply for 16 thousand inhabitants of Rrëshen, and also the drainage canals of the highway. But such a situation was completely avoided during the recent rainfalls, following a $ 33 million investment for the construction of river protection, consisting of embankments and 12 transverse 10 meter-high brushes. It was thanks to this investment that the overflow of the river was avoided. Mayor of Mirdite Ndrec Dedaj said that this investment is important not only for residents of Orosh and Rreshen, but also because it protects the highway from water erosion, and prevents damages to the aqueduct and the energy network. “It prevents damages to the aqueduct, to the electrical line, to the school of the village and to the homes here. If this investment had not been made, the national road would have been out of work”, Dedaj said.

* * *

Due to the lack of a serious geological study during the construction of the National Road, severe problems have emerged in two of its sections, and they are particularly concerning during winter. Recent rainfalls have caused massive cracks of the mountain with consequent soil sliding over the road, which has hampered movement and put at serious danger the lives of passengers. Prime Minister Rama inspected the situation in one of these sections on the road Rrëshen-Kalimash. Director of Civil Emergencies Shemsi Premçi explained that the mountain rift is approximately 60 centimetres. “From the measurements made by specialists of the geological service, the slipping here was very deep, but not deeper than that in the village Klos. The whole mountain is expected to split apart. It’s 60 centimetres apart”, Premçi said.

In addition to pointing out the aggravated situation, Prime Minister Rama noted that the solution to this problem is the first things to be dealt with in terms of road maintenance. “This is the first intervention which will be made in order to prevent this rift from getting deeper, and to avoid terrible consequences for the entire project. This situation is due to the fact that the road was made without proper geological studies and without properly following the whole technical process. However, I believe that this section will be stabilized soon, and meanwhile work will begin to complete it and to have an ongoing maintenance of the road throughout the years, so that no more problems will occur”, the Prime Minister noted.