Montenegro will have 15 kilometers of highways and expressways in 623 years if the planned activities envisaged in the Spatial Plan until 2040 are fulfilled, which was agreed upon by the Government last week and sent to the Parliament for adoption.
Of that, 270 kilometers relate to two highway corridors: Bar - Boljare (A1) and Adriatic - Ionian (A2), and 353 kilometers are expressways in five directions - Budva - border with Croatia (B1), Crnča - Pljevlja - border with Bosnia and Herzegovina (B2), Smokovac - Tuzi - Božaj (B3), Podgorica - Nikšić - Šavnik - Žabljak - Pljevlja (B4) and Andrijevica - border with Kosovo (B5).
Spajić mentioned eight billion
At the beginning of last year, the Prime Minister Milojko Spajic spoke about the plan for a new 480-kilometer network of highways and expressways through Montenegro, which is about a hundred kilometers shorter than the network in the new Spatial Plan. At the time, he estimated that their construction would cost more than eight billion euros, and that “most of these projects will be completed” by the end of 2030.
The spatial plan defines corridors of highways and expressways that are 600 to XNUMX meters wide, and then the best and most precise route variant is determined by conceptual solutions. It was also stated that during the development of the Spatial Plan, Monteput announced several public procurements for the development of conceptual solutions based on existing guidelines.
Compared to the previous highway corridors, there was a change in the route of the highway from Podgorica to Bar, an extension of that highway to Ulcinj, as well as a specification of the intersection of the Adriatic-Ionian with Bar-Boljare in the area of the village of Gradac (between Barutana and Dobrska Župa).
In the expressways, a new so-called northern development route has been completely added - from Crnča (the interchange on the Bar - Boljare highway near Bijelo Polje) towards Pljevlja and the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina (further towards Sarajevo) and from the interchange on the highway near Andrijevica towards Peć in Kosovo. In the other expressway routes, partial changes have been made, as well as in the connection of these roads with highways.
Significant changes to the route from Podgorica to Bar
The Bar - Boljare highway, compared to the previous three, is now divided into seven sections. The already constructed Podgorica - Mateševo section of 42 kilometers, as well as the next section from Mateševo to Andrijevica of 22 kilometers, for which the documentation has been completed and the selection of the contractor is underway with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The third section according to this Plan is Andrijevica - Berane bypass - Crnča (loop for connection with Bijeli Polje and Pljevlja) - Boljare (Borov do - border with Serbia), with a total length of 50 km. The fourth section is Smokovac - Tološi (loop for connection with the Podgorica - Danilovgrad boulevard in Tološko polje between the substation and Sitnica), with a length of 10 km. This section bypasses Rogame and Duklja, crosses the Zeta near Vranjske njive and along the eastern slope of Velje Brdo reaches the loop in Tološko polje.
The fifth section is from Tološ to the intersection with the Adriatic-Ionian highway in the area of the village of Gradac. It would be 16 km long and from Tološ it would cross the Podgorica-Danilovgrad boulevard and then climb and go around Bere, via Bigor it would reach Gradac-Dobrska Župa, where there would be an interchange for joining the Adriatic-Ionian highway. This would also be the closest connection between Podgorica and this highway.
The sixth section is from the Gradac interchange to Virpazar, 25,5 km long, and the seventh from Virpazar to Bar, 22 km long. These two sections have undergone significant changes compared to the guidelines from the previous spatial plan due to the bypass of the Skadar Lake National Park.
From the intersection with the Jadranko-Ionian Highway, the section goes through Meteriz, bypasses the settlements of Rijeka Crnojevića and Dubovo, and then intersects with the coastal expressway in the area between Dubovo and Trnovo. At this interchange, everyone traveling to Budva and Boka will be able to exit.
From Bar to Ulcinj highway
After this intersection, the section of the highway towards Bar in the Orahovo zone continues towards Sozina, and then via Limljani, Sutorman and Velembus reaches Bar (Zaljevo loop).
"Further to Ulcinj and the border with Albania, or Sukobin, it continues as a section of the Adriatic-Ionian Highway. The section from Dobrska Župa to Bar is common to two highways: Bar-Boljare and the Adriatic-Ionian Highway. Given the importance of the Port of Bar, it is proposed that the section from the exit of the Sozina tunnel via Bar to Ulcinj have the profile of a highway and not an expressway, as previously planned," the Plan states.
Two sections of Jadranko-jonski through Montenegro
The Adriatic-Ionian Highway, as stated, has the role of transit international traffic. Through Montenegro, it is planned from the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina (in the area of the village of Nudo) - Grahovo - Čevo - Zagora to the intersection with the Bar - Boljare highway in Dobrska Župa (Gradac loop). It then continues along a common section with the Bar - Boljare highway to Bar, and from Bar it continues via Ulcinj to the border with Albania (Sukobin).
"This road, which is part of the European transport corridor, plays a significant role in strengthening economic and tourist connections in the region. It includes two sections: the Gradac - Čevo - Grahovo loop - border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, 58 km long, and from Bar (Zaljevo loop) - Ulcinj - border with Albania, 23,5 km long," the Plan states.
Routes of five expressways
The coastal expressway (B1) is defined as being of strategic interest for the economic and tourist development of Budva and the municipalities of Boka. It is stated that six million passengers pass through the Tivat - Budva route annually, and that the need will increase in the future due to new tourist resorts and hotels.
The planned corridor of this expressway, 60 km long, runs from Debeli Brijeg, on the border with Croatia, passes through the hinterland of the municipality of Herceg Novi, passes through the Zelenika zone and near Kumbor crosses the Bay of Kotor, continues along the southern side of the Luštica peninsula (according to the Preliminary Design, largely through a tunnel) and exits at the settlement of Radovići. In the Tivat area, it passes south of the airport, near Lješevići, Vranovići, Radanovići, goes to Bratešići (Lastva Grbaljska), then bypasses Budva (Markovići - Vrijesno) and in the area of the villages of Dubovo and Trnovo intersects with the Bar - Boljare highway.
"Given that the Luštica peninsula area is a protected UNESCO area, as is the Sv. Neđelja-Opatovo zone, the justification of this corridor must be further examined in the phase of developing the Preliminary Designs and accompanying analyses," the Plan states.
For the B2 Crnča - Pljevlja - border with BiH expressway, it is stated that the precise route will be defined by a conceptual design, and that the expected length is 94 km.
For the B3 Smokovac - Tuzi - Božaj expressway, it was stated that it was listed as a highway in the previous plan, but that its rank was reduced for the purpose of rationalization. The implementation is also conditioned by Albania's traffic development plans, and the length is 23 km.
The expressway Podgorica - Danilovgrad - Nikšić - Šavnik - Žabljak - Pljevlja, as stated, would be a connection to the highway and help valorize the tourist potential of that part of Montenegro. Its length is 145 km. It was pointed out that the conceptual solutions "need to avoid conflicts with protection zones - the Zeta River Nature Park, the Dragišnica and Komarnica Nature Park and the Durmitor National Park, especially the Tara River area, under UNESCO protection".
For the fifth expressway, Andrijevica - border with Kosovo, 31 km long, it is stated that it would connect Montenegro with the highway branch through Kosovo to Peja, but that a special study will show the cost-effectiveness of construction.
Option for Podgorica - Sozina to be a expressway
Due to better connections to highways, the Spatial Plan provides for the possibility that the main road M-2 (Podgorica - Sozina) across Lake Skadar can be expanded to four lanes.
This would give it the level of a highway, but this would eventually be done in accordance with the technical capabilities and protection regimes of the Skadar Lake National Park, which will be established in the coming period.
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