The Albanian Road Authority (ARA) has reversed its decision to make the main road leading to Tirana airport one-direction only following protests by residents of Rinas where the airport is located.
“The road to Rinas will return to its previous state, the traffic will continue in two directions until a final solution in order to facilitate traffic in the segment,” says the statement.
ARA announced its original decision last week, meaning that people driving towards Tirana from the north would be redirected towards Kruje, adding a significant amount of time onto the journey.
The authority said this was due to an increase in the number of flights and traffic. They decided to make the road one way to enable two lanes of traffic for those going to catch their flights.
The decision was followed by several days of protests by residents of the village where the airport is located.
Protestors told the media that taking their children to school takes up to two hours and said it is impossible to access medical centres, markets, or the local cemetery.
In today’s announcement, ARA asked those travelling from the north that they take alternatives routes to lighten the traffic load towards the airport.
