Reconstruction of regional road section Dariva - Mošćanica begins

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Work has begun on the rehabilitation of the regional road Dariva-Hreša R447, section Dariva - Mošćanica, 450 meters in length. The work is being carried out from the Bosnian-Turkish Friendship Bridge on Obhodža towards Dariva, and the project is being jointly implemented by the Municipality of Stari Grad and the Sarajevo Canton Roads Directorate.

This is a regional road that is of great importance to the residents of Mošćanica, Gazijin Han, Faletići, Baruthana, Nova Baruthana, Hladivoda and other settlements, which number more than 1,500 households. In addition to private vehicles, public transport vehicles also use this road, and it is of great importance for the Sarajevo Canton, given that it is the first alternative road in case of accidents on the M-5 Sarajevo-Pale road.

The works on the regional road Dariva-Hreša R447 were inspected today by the mayor, Mr. Ibrahim Hadžibajrić, and the director of the Sarajevo Canton Roads Directorate, Selmir Kovač. Currently, the road corridor is being widened by removing the existing rock and relocating four electricity poles. After that, excavation, removal of the old asphalt on the entire section, and asphalting will be carried out.

“In cooperation with the Roads Directorate, the lower part of the road, which had not been in use since 1987 due to a landslide at the time, was completed five years ago. This is now a continuation of the works up to the bridge on Obhodža, and it is a large and very demanding project. The road will be much wider in this section, which will mean the end of problems for drivers of larger vehicles. This is an investment of over 300,000 KM, with the cantonal Roads Directorate providing the larger part of 70%, and the Municipality of Stari Grad providing the rest,” said the mayor, Mr. Ibrahim Hadžibajrić.

The director of the Sarajevo Canton Roads Directorate, Selmir Kovač, said that regional roads are their most important responsibility and are of great importance for the entire Sarajevo Canton.

“The goal is to widen this road according to safety standards, which is up to 5.9 meters where possible. In addition to new asphalt, the project also includes new horizontal and vertical traffic signage, as well as surface water drainage and dewatering, which is vital for a road in this area. Our plan is to continue with this and other significant infrastructure projects in the coming years,” said Kovač.

The local community of Mošćanica is the largest local community in the Municipality of Stari Grad in terms of territory, covering 1/3 of the entire municipality. The access roads to this local community, specifically the regional road Dariva-Hreša R447, are of great importance, but in the condition they were in until now, they did not allow for the passage of larger trucks and buses. Mirsad Lelo, a resident of Mošćanica, spoke about this.

“This project means a lot to all residents of Mošćanica because this road has been a 'bottleneck' for all communication and traffic, especially heavy vehicles, for decades. A larger truck has never reached our area precisely because of the condition of the road, and this is a major undertaking for our local area,” said Lelo. The deadline for carrying out these works is 60 calendar days.

Incidentally, in October 2015, a section of the regional road R 446 Dariva – Hreša was reconstructed, thus restoring to function a road that had not been used since 1987. The reconstruction of the regional road R 446 Dariva – Hreša in 2015 was financed by the Sarajevo Canton Roads Directorate, with an amount of 330,000 KM. Before the construction of the road, it was necessary to build a retaining wall 61 meters long and three to six meters high in the bed of the Mošćanica River. In addition, slope protection against landslides was carried out, and the length of the entire section of the newly built road is about 250 meters.