TIRANA, March 15 /ATA/- “Around 50 % of bridges in our country are in poor condition, “ Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Artan Shkreli, said.
During a roundtable on bridge safety in our country with the participation of directors at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and of Albanian Road Authority, Shkreli said that the most structurally deficient bridges are located in North Albania.
According to him, many bridges have fallen into decay due to the long period of their use and the lack of maintenance works up to standards.
“In Albania about 70% of bridges have exceeded the age of 50 to 70 years, which means they have entered their risk phase. Up to now maintenance of bridges has been a routine process limited to cleaning, repair of railings and fillings caused by erosion, no repair at structural level.”
The working group after an inspection has come to the following conclusion: Over 50% of bridges in our country are deficient, most of them in the north as a result of atmospheric conditions and traffic and a small part in the south, “deputy minister said.
Shkreli added that the census conducted does not only specify the cataloging of bridges in Albania which was known in an approximate way, however now we have a very precise number of bridges on the national axes and found the bridges in urgent need of repair.
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