FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
This is the new highway bridge that leads to Lezha. As these images show, the bridge legs have been completely exposed due to the barbaric exploitation of the river.
The images show that this object of special importance is surrounded by companies that exploit mountains of inert materials, taken from its vicinity.
"Damage to the riverbed practically changes several important flow parameters: it changes the speed of the river's flow, changes the bed where it is located and, if damaged, can have effects on its banks by eroding the river even in width in cases when we have large flows, when the waters inundate those river banks, which in natural conditions we see dry, without continuous water flow, and which can cause increased erosion," said Mihallaq Qirjo, professor of Ecosystem Ecology.
The diversion of the river's flow due to uncontrolled erosion risks destroying this bridge, which is the main traffic artery of northern Albania. It connects the Milot-Lezha highway with Shkodra.
Alarm bells about the damage to the Shënkoll bridge have been ringing since 2020-2021 from the Lezha prefecture, which has been notifying institutions that the bridge's legs have been exposed, but there has been no reaction yet.
The problem has been evident for some time and has been addressed several times by the Lezha District Prefect to the competent institutions and law enforcement bodies, to take measures and crack down on the illegal use of inert materials in this area. Even now, the situation seems to be worsening.
Today, five years later, the body of this important bridge appears damaged and the aggregate companies continue their barbaric exploitation.
This is the train bridge in Milot, 788 meters long. Even the legs of this bridge have been swallowed by the river due to the indiscriminate use of inert materials over the decades. The Lezha Prefecture had listed it on the list of damaged objects and had informed all institutions, but here too there was no intervention.
In July 2025, the Road Authority completely closed the bridge to traffic as it posed a serious risk to the stability and safety of the crossing, due to damage to the supporting foundations, severe erosion of the base, and erosion throughout the riverbed. The closure of the bridge at the height of the summer tourist season caused chaos in traffic towards Lezha and Shkodra.
The Road Authority urgently opened a tender for the rehabilitation intervention. In August of that year, the Junik company was declared the winner with a value of 86 million lek, or 1 million dollars. This tender was marked with a red flag, as the winning bid was not the one with the lowest value.
The project envisaged clearing the area around the piles and leveling the bed; concreting the piles, reinforcing and protecting the bridge foundations.
The works were expected to be completed within two months, but at the beginning of March 2026, rehabilitation work was still ongoing./ Inside Story
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