Consulting engineer, COWI has been appointed bridge and tunnel advisor to contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation for the Smokovac-Uvac-Matesevo section of the Bar-Boljare highway project in Montenegro, part of the trans-European highway.
The terrain is mountainous, making the design and construction very demanding. Bridges and tunnels make up about 60% of the entire 41km route, including 16 twin tunnel sections, mainly through complex flysch bedrock, and several major bridges across the valleys.
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Expected to open in May 2019, the highway will play an important role in the development of tourism and drive Montenegro’s economic development. It is the priority section of the 170km Bar-Boljare highway project, a new highway running north to south from Montenegro’s main sea port to the Serbian border.
COWI’s scope includes assistance with the advanced geological forecasting of rock mass conditions and interpretation of instrumentation and monitoring, to assist with the design of the primary tunnel lining support, which will be carried out by full time engineering geology staff on site.
The advice will be provided by engineers from COWI’s Bridges International division, based in Copenhagen, and geotechnical centre of excellence in Glasgow.
The construction contracts for the southern and northern sections of the Bar-Boljare highway are yet to be awarded.
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