Safer roads with EU support

With the financial assistance of the European Union, the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs successfully implemented a project worth €470,000, called “Road Safety Assessment.” It is one of the four national projects in the transport sector, with a total value of €34 million, for which the European Union has provided €24 million in grants.

As part of this project, whose beneficiary was the Transport Directorate, 1,853 km of main and regional roads in Montenegro were analysed, using the International Security Assessment Methodology (iRAP).

As the Director of the Directorate for International Cooperation and EU Funds at the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs, Emina Mujevic Kara, reminded the project started on 26 November 2018, and was successfully implemented within the agreed upon deadline.

"We all know that at the top of the priorities of the European Union agenda is road safety. This is, in fact, one of Montenegro's top priorities. Therefore, we have to move closer to that standard step by step, and we are doing this with the support of EU projects," explained Mujevic Kara.

The main activities of this project include mapping the risks of road sections based on the number of traffic accidents, traffic flow, and other data collected through a thorough analysis of road safety performance. The Safer Roads Investment Plan has been drawn up as part of the project, which lists the most cost-effective improvements that can reduce the risk of road accidents for all traffic user groups.

Road infrastructure is not the only factor affecting road safety. There is also the technical aspect of the vehicle, as well as the behaviour of all road users, especially the drivers, which means that there is a lot more work to be done.

"Some training was provided through the project, and trainees from the Transport Directorate, the Ministry of Transport and the Police Directorate had the opportunity to improve their knowledge in road safety assessment and to become familiar with international standards in this area," said Mujevic Kara.

Maintaining and developing a safe road infrastructure is a crucial issue, asserted the Deputy Head of Cooperation Sector in the EU Delegation to Montenegro, Audrone Urbonaviciute.

“Despite the limited public finances, this issue must always be in focus and a priority that must deliver concrete results. In this sense, the results of this project will contribute to the improvement of the road infrastructure in Montenegro. For the first time, measuring and mapping the security of Montenegro's road infrastructure has been done in this integral way. This assessed the security levels objectively,” Urbonaviciute said.

Urbonaviciute said that the results achieved are primarily important for raising awareness among the population where high-risk roads are located, and will also encourage a discussion between policy makers and road infrastructure engineers in Montenegro.

“Due to the challenges of topography and relief, Montenegro's road network faces a number of conditions and challenges that can make our efforts even more challenging and costly. Bearing in mind the high rates of economic return as a result of the reduction of traffic accidents, investments in safer roads will always be rewarded,” concluded Urbonaviciute.

The project was implemented by IMC Worldwide Limited in consortium with COWI A / S from Denmark and AF-Cityplan s.r.o. from the Czech Republic.