Construction work is said to be progressing to plan on a twin tube road tunnel project in Bosnia. The Zenica Tunnel stretch is part of the Zenica Bypass between Ponirak and Vraca, which itself forms part of the important 5C Corridor.
Euro Asfalt is working on the first 2.5km tube for the tunnel stretch and the work is expected to take 30 months. Construction commenced in late 2019. A construction timeline for the parallel 2.42km tube has yet to be revealed. The client for the project meanwhile is Bosnia’s motorway firm Autoceste FbiH.
Building the link will cost an estimated €69 million. The bulk of the financing required has been provid by the European Investment Bank (EIB). However, a portion of the financing for the tunnel has been provided by the Investment Framework for Western Balkans (WBIF). The bypass is 4km long in all and also requires the construction of a 400m viaduct as well as shorter tunnel sections of 400m and 300m.
The construction of the 5C route is expected to improve traffic capacity and safety across Bosnia, as well as reducing journey times.
