The length of the main road Sarajevo-Tuzla will finally be shortened, and the flow of people and goods will be faster and more comfortable than ever, it was said today at the ceremony marking the official start of construction works of drilling the tunnel Karaula from Olovo side (Karaula-south).
The construction of the tunnel, bridges and the road section will reduces the length of the existing section by of 3.6 km, and the highest point of the pass is brought down by one hundred meters.
The length of the new tunnel Karaula is 902 meters, and the contractor is Austrian company “Strabag”, which has engaged a lot of local subcontractors from the country, and the agreed price is around 24.3 million BAM.
The ceremony marking the commencement of works on the tunnel Karaula, among others, was attended by the FBiH Minister of Transport and Communications Enver Bijedić and representatives of the public enterprise “Ceste FBiH” (FBiH Roads), the contractors, and supervisors of works and mayors of Kladanj and Olovo.
Minister Bijedić said that this was a historic moment for all citizens of Tuzla and Tuzla Canton because in this way the travel time between Tuzla and Sarajevo with the tunnel Karaula and four planned bridges and viaducts that will be on this route will be significantly shortened. He added that the FBiH Ministry of Transport and Communications has started with this project two and a half years ago.
Bijedić also underlined as important that this tunnel will bring closer the municipalities of Olovo and Kladanj, and the tunnel will also be used to conduct energy linkage of these areas.
“The contractual deadline is 16 months, meaning that by the end of 2015 this route will be fully functional,” added Bijedić.
(Source: Fena/ photo depo.ba)
