The Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Božidar Kalmeta attended today the breaking through of Škurinje I tunnel, which is being built along the southern roadway of the Rijeka beltway.
Minister Kalmeta said that, according to plans, the construction of the southern segment of the beltway would be finalized by next summer, which would solve a large part of the traffic problems in the city of Rijeka.
He also announced, for the end of 2008, the completion of the road connecting the Port of Rijeka and the eastern part of the beltway, as well as the start of the construction activities related to the last section of the beltway from Sveti Kuzam to Križišće.
The full profile of the motorway Rijeka - Zagreb will be opened for traffic by the end of October, he said. He also confirmed that the upcoming 4-year plan for maintenance and building of public roads would include the project of the motorway Rijeka - Žuta Lokva.
The Škurinje I tunnel is one of four tunnels which will be constructed as part of the additional southern roadway of the beltway, reaching the length of 412 meters.
The total length of the southern beltway, from interchange Orehovica to the interchange Diračje measures 8.8 km and together with the access roads it totals 9.6 km. The value of the construction activities adds up to HRK 627.9 million and the target date is set for 1 June 2009.
The construction activities of the southern beltway will include the building of the Ričine Bridge (208.5 m), the viaducts Katarina (112m) and Mihačeva Draga (189 m), as well as four tunnels - Trsat (858m), Katarina (190m), Škurinje I (412 m) and Škurinje II (560m).
Also part of the project is the building of the underpass Škurinje, the overpass Kozala and the overpass at the Škurinje interchange, as well as the reconstruction of the overpasses Malonji and Vrhovo.
The concession, i.e. the obligation to construct the southern beltway from Orehovica to Diračje was consigned in August 2007 to the company Motorway Rijeka - Zagreb, which according to the words of the Mayor of Rijeka Vojko Obersnel improved the construction of the new part of the beltway.