A-1 motorway (Montenegro)

The motorway is to be built in three phases: • (Bar) Đurmani - Sozina tunnel - Virpazar - Bistrica - Šteke - Ćafa - Tološko polje - (Podgorica) Smokovac - this is the southernmost section of the motorway, that will link the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica with the main Montenegrin seaport in Bar. Potential investors, such as EBRD and EIB, were suggesting that this section should be built first, as it will likely have the biggest traffic volume following completion. The planned length of this section is 49 km. • (Podgorica) Smokovac - Bioče - Pelev Brijeg - Lijeva Rijeka - Veruša - Mateševo - this middle section of the motorway has been started first, because of its significance as a link between Podgorica and northern Montenegro. The current road link (E65 and E80), carved into the Morača canyon, is a curvy mountainous road, which is very dangerous during the winter, and is a bottleneck in Montenego's road network. Thus, building this section first is a requirement in bidding documents presented by the Montenegrin government. This section has a length of 41 km, and is by far the most expensive section of the motorway, with a cost per kilometer estimated at over 20 million EUR. • Mateševo - Andrijevica - Berane - Crnča - Boljare - Border with Serbia - this northernmost section of the motorway is likely to be completed only after progress is made on the Serbian section of the motorway south of Požega. The planned length of this section is 75 km. ==History==

In October 2008 the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism proposed a Detailed Zoning Plan of the Bar-Boljare Motorway. The third and the northernmost section, from Mateševo to Boljare (border with Serbia), as well as the small strip across Lake Skadar, were to be the subject of further negotiations. However, the Greek-Israeli consortium also failed to provide bank guarantees, so the negotiations between the consortium and the government of Montenegro were ended in December 2010. The Government of Montenegro began to explore financing options for motorway construction, including negotiations with Chinese investors. The possibility of China Road and Bridge Group and China Poly Group Corporation building the road, with the financial backing of Exim Bank of China, was explored. In January 2011, the Montenegrin Minister of Transport sent an official letter of invitation to the Poly Group. In April 2013 discussions were still under way between the Montenegrin government and Chinese parties and an offer of US$1bn of financing by EXIM bank and the selection of a preferred construction consortium was announced in July 2013. In December 2014 negotiations with Chinese partners successfully concluded. In May 2015 work started on the first section in Montenegro, Smokovac-Uvač-Mateševo, expected to finish within 48 months. == Status ==

The section between Smokovac near Podgorica and Mateševo near Kolašin is finished, and it is Montenegro's first full motorway section. Initially, construction was expected to be finished in May 2019. Later this was revised, and it has been opened in July 13, 2022. The pillars of the Moračica bridge, the tallest bridge on the motorway, were finished in October 2017. The right tube of Klopot Tunnel is the first tunnel that was excavated on motorway on August 25, 2017. In 2017, tunnels Jabučki Krš (1370 m and 1430 m), Mrke (829 m and 800 m) and Vilac (815 m and 950 m) were also excavated. In 2018, tunnels Mrki Krš (700 m each tube), Mala Trava (1900 m and 1884 m), Suka (600 m each tube) and Vežešnik (2474 m and 2414 m) were excavated. Longest tunnel in middle section of motorway, Vjeternik Tunnel (3039 m and 2852 m) was excavated on July 9, 2018. == References ==