FLASH NEWS
The Saga of Degradation/ After the Roads, Bridges Are at Risk of Collapse!
2026-03-09 19:45:46 / AKTUALITET
Citizens who wish to travel from the capital or from Kosovo to northern Albania must pass through the Ura e Matit to connect to cities such as Lezha and Shkodra.
But before entering this bridge, it is impossible not to notice the high mountain of sand and stones in the industrial inert washing machines next to it, which take the raw material from the Mat River bed.
The bridge has suffered damage and poses a risk to citizens who use it as one of the only connecting nodes.
The Mati Bridge is the longest in the north of the country. Built more than two decades ago, today it is depreciating and collapsing, just like other bridges over the Mat River and its tributaries, which are vital nodes for the residents of the area.
The destruction that the infrastructure of this major investment has suffered over the years has not only come as a result of weather conditions or the decades it has been under, but also from the hand of man.
The bridge has suffered damage to its legs, which is becoming increasingly visible, as the distance where the river's sediment is collected is less than 500 meters away.
The responsible authorities have never taken measures to prevent this phenomenon, which occurs precisely in an area where it is categorically prohibited. But this is not the only bridge that faces problems and becomes a danger to citizens.
In the period 2025–2026 alone, several cases were reported in Albania where bridges collapsed, were severely damaged, or were dismantled due to the risk of collapse.
In November 2025, the Xhyrës Bridge in Librazhd was reported to have collapsed. This bridge, which connected several villages to the main road in the Xhyrës area, collapsed after the Shkumbin River overflowed its banks. One of its supporting legs was damaged and vehicle and pedestrian traffic was disrupted, isolating 340 families for weeks.
Another case in recent days was the bridge in Dragostunje, on the Librazhd–Prrenjas segment. The bridge was destabilized by landslides and was considered very dangerous. Authorities stopped traffic and then the bridge was dismantled for safety reasons during the emergency intervention in the area.
Another case of 2026 was the Peqin–Belsh bridge. At the beginning of the year, it was reported that the bridge connecting these two cities was in danger of collapsing, and for this reason, heavy vehicle traffic was banned on it.
In 2023, Albania launched the first phase of the "Building Resilient Bridges" project, funded by the World Bank, which aims to increase the resilience of bridges to climate change and natural disasters, as well as improve road infrastructure management.
According to the initial project assessment report, a significant portion of the bridges in the national road network face structural problems and risks mainly related to flooding, river erosion and infrastructure depreciation. Many of these bridges were built decades ago and were not designed to withstand current climatic and hydrological conditions.
The assessment identifies around 30 priority bridges in the national network that need intervention, with most of them presenting both structural weaknesses and a lack of resilience to climate risks. Among the bridges included in the list of priority interventions are also mentioned the Viroi bridge in the Gjirokastra area, the Beshir bridge over the Erzen River on the Tirana–Ndroq–Plepa axis, the Orikum bridge in the Vlora area, the Selenica bridge, and the Dragoti bridge in Tepelena. Also included in this list are other structures such as the Drithasi bridge on the Libonik–Plasë axis and several other bridges in different segments of the national network.
Another problem identified is related to the lack of a comprehensive monitoring and management system for bridge assets. Inspections and maintenance, according to the report, have not always been consistent and interventions have often been made only after damage has become apparent.
According to the World Bank's analysis, the risk is not only related to the safety of the infrastructure, but also to the impact that a bridge failure could have on economic and social connections. Many of them are located on important road corridors and serve as key nodes connecting cities and regions.
In just a few months, many bridges have given alarming signals about the danger they pose, not only because they are very important connecting nodes between cities and regions, but also because of the complexity of the problems they present, from natural to man-made.
What remains worrying is the lack of timely interventions for prevention. Authorities seem to react only after bridges collapse. /Denada Jushi – ACQJ
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