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"Bird's Bridge"/ Rama's unfulfilled promise and the risk of collapse

2025-11-12 21:30:30 / POLITIKË ALFA PRESS

"Bird's Bridge"/ Rama's unfulfilled promise and the risk of

The identity of a nation is passed down from generation to generation through historical, cultural, and architectural heritage. But in Albania, engineering works of this value are often forgotten.

This is the fate of the "Bird's Bridge" or "Arched Bridge" on the Mat River, which has been abandoned for years and is in danger of collapsing day by day. Despite the alarm constantly raised, mainly by experts, there is no real and concrete intervention for its preservation, proving the negligence that we have with our history.

Inaugurated on May 26, 1927, the “Bird Bridge” has a special significance: it is considered one of the first engineering works of this magnitude, built in the early years of the Albanian state. Designed by the Swiss engineer Erwin Schnitter and implemented by Gjovalin Gjadri, it served as the main national artery, connecting the South with the North of the country at a time when connectivity between cities was difficult.

Today, this heritage is in danger. Paulin Zefi, a historian in Lezha, constantly raises the alarm about the rare value that is being lost.

According to his study, “The Zogu Bridge is in critical condition, with a risk of further degradation or complete destruction of the northern segment, if timely restoration works are not undertaken.”

For Zefi, the only salvation is immediate intervention. This would require the design and implementation of a project similar to the intervention implemented in 2024, which saved the two northern arches from complete collapse. Another alarming voice comes from historian and MP Erald Kapri, who emphasizes the need for government institutions to be aware of the protection of cultural monuments.

Scholar Paulin Zefi emphasizes that this monument should not be seen only as an engineering structure, but also as a historical testimony that connects the past with the present, showing the vision that Albania would have had without the installation of communism. Even the successor of the Royal Family, Prince Leka, has visited the object, describing it as a symbol of heritage.

However, the alarm is not only national, but also international: “Ura e Zogut” is listed as one of seven European sites in danger by the prestigious organization “Europa Nostra”. This achievement came thanks to the community engagement of activists and 3700 citizens of Kurbin, who signed for concrete action since January 2021.

After decades of neglect, partial interventions in 2010 to reinforce it, and the systematic theft of its metal elements for scrap, in June of this year, a partial emergency intervention to save the bridge began with a fund of 46 million lek, where work began on raising and reinforcing the sunken foot of the bridge, and then on its full restoration. However, today, the construction site is forgotten and the bridge is in the last days of its life.

Although Prime Minister Edi Rama, in 2023, publicly promised the restoration of this monument and its "renaissance", the real work has not yet begun. The Ministry of Culture continues to fail to intervene, leaving this rare work to be completely destroyed, despite calls from inside and outside Albania.

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