Although the start of the reconstruction of Vojislavljevića Street in the Zabjelo neighborhood of Podgorica was officially announced on May 12th with speeches by several government officials led by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and Podgorica Mayor Saša Mujović, the reality on the ground tells a different story - there is no work in sight.
About ten days later, at the announced reconstruction location, "Vijesti" found no excavators, no workers, and no signs of any construction activities.
Apart from announcements and statements by officials to two media outlets (there was no announcement of the event to the media), concrete work has not yet begun, and the project worth 14,43 million euros is still awaiting, among other things, the completion of land expropriation.
"Today, by opening the works, we have proven that we are fulfilling the promises made to the citizens. We will soon have a tender for the long-awaited reconstruction of the bridge to Cetinje Road, which we will also implement in cooperation with the Capital City," said Spajić at the opening ceremony, adding that with the Vojislavljević Boulevard, the construction of the Western Bypass and the section of the highway, traffic connections within the country will be significantly improved.
The reconstruction of this street, which is 3,2 kilometers long and leads from the roundabout on Petrovac Road to Cetinje Road, is one of the important infrastructure projects and has been a critical point in the Capital for 10 years, causing major traffic jams.
That Vojislavljevića Street is a bottleneck in the Zabjelo neighborhood was also shown by the fact that at 12:20 on May XNUMX, the car of the "Vijesti" team took more than ten minutes to travel the entire length of this street due to heavy traffic.
Translated into average speed, the vehicle was moving at about 3,2 kilometers per hour over these 20 kilometers - which is usually the speed of travel on narrow roads. There was no work on the route yesterday either.
DON'T MISS IT
1,5 million deposited for expropriation
The Capital City Property Directorate officially told "Vijesti" that the expropriation process for the project has not yet been completed, and it has been initiated for the priority part of this route, from the roundabout at the "Vodovoda" building to the former 19. december factory, from 28 owners. The purchase of plots is being managed by the Real Estate Administration, while 1.580.738 euros have been paid to the account of the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property for these purposes - so far.
This figure, however, is not final. The Directorate for Property explained that they will have data on the total amount of expropriation and the number of plot owners only after receiving the Expropriation Study and the completed assessment, while payments will be made by the Real Estate Administration after the final decisions. The expropriation, they say, began in March, but they also say that they cannot influence the length of the procedure because it also depends on citizens who want to protect their rights.
"We are not responsible for the works, nor can we comment on them. The Capital City is a party to the proceedings. So far, 1.580.738 euros have been deposited into the Ministry's account. The Real Estate Administration is responsible for the entire course of the expropriation procedure, land assessment, decision-making and payment. The procedure for the priority section has been initiated in relation to 28 plot owners. Funds for the priority section have been deposited. The Traffic Administration is responsible for procedures related to obtaining a permit," they stated.
The money must be paid to the Ministry so that public interest can be declared for this boulevard and so that work can begin. The section is about 3,2 kilometers long, and the renovation will first be carried out on a priority section about a kilometer long, where traffic will be completely stopped.
The reconstruction of Vojislavljevića Street is being carried out by the company "Crnagoraput", while the works are planned to be completed in a year and a half. Supervision of this project is being carried out by "Construction Supervision and Laboratory Testing", and the construction is jointly financed by the Traffic Administration with 7,5 million euros and the Capital with around 4,4 million euros excluding VAT.
"Vijesti" also expects answers about the works and expropriation on this section from the Real Estate Administration.
Works probably from June
Podgorica Mayor Saša Mujović said on May 12 that "the full dynamics of the works will begin in June", and that preparatory works are underway, and that the entire route will be put into operation within the planned period of 18 months.
"In these four months, since the establishment of the new city administration, we have invested a lot of effort in order to resolve the inherited problems regarding the implementation of this project, primarily unresolved property and legal relations. However, the effort really makes sense when we have reached this day. I must mention that this is a textbook example, a great example of the exceptional cooperation and support that the city administration has from the Government of Montenegro and I am sure that we can do a lot in this way," said Mujović.
Director of the Traffic Administration Radomir Vuksanović said at the time that the project was divided into three phases to reduce traffic congestion, and that the first would start from the roundabout at Vodovod to the former "19. decembar" factory, and as the works progress, the rest of the road would be closed in phases.
The reconstruction of Vojislavljevića Street is planned in two parts, through the reconstruction of the boulevard section and 650 meters to the roundabout on Cetinjski and Nikšić roads, within which the old bridge on the Morača will be renovated and a new bridge will be built. It is expected that the construction of the bridge and this part of the route will cost around 8.000.000 euros, bringing the total cost of the works to around 22,4 million euros. After the reconstruction, the street will be transformed into a boulevard with four traffic lanes.
Most i fontana?
The environmental impact assessment study for the reconstruction of the bridge on Vojislavljevića Street and the roundabout received the green light from the Environmental Protection Agency in mid-August last year.
The Study emphasizes that a new bridge will be built, parallel to the old one on the Morača River, due to the expansion of city streets to four lanes.
"The architectural project, in the conceptual design phase, planned to install a fountain between the old and new bridges as a variant of the design of the space between the two bridges. The fountain is placed on an orthotropic steel plate that is supported by both bridges and was analyzed as a permanent load in the design documentation phase," the Elaborate states.
It is emphasized that the existing bridge was built in 1979 according to the then General Urban Plan of Titograd, and that according to the general urban and technical conditions, it was planned to build two parallel bridges with a space of 30 centimeters.
The Study also states that on both sides of Vojislavljevića Street there are houses with gardens, warehouses and other business buildings, as well as degraded and undeveloped areas, but that there are no protected buildings or cultural and historical heritage assets.
Bonus video:
