Almost everyday I walk on this little bridge on the way to and from work. This small but vital link for pedestrians like myself, connects two sides of the Lana River and it is known by many as the “little Bloku bridge†(ura e vogel e Bllokut), since it connects the Block area of Tirana with the Youth Park (Rinia Park or Taivan Center).
But more importantly, this little bridge is not dear only to me. Hundreds of pedestrians walk across it every day and that number has been growing for several years now. All those of us who use it on a regular basis are very aware of its worsening conditions and how the traffic of people does get quite dense, especially during the weekend. At those times it feels like it is going to collapse from the sheer number of people who stand on it, as they try to cross it all at the same time.
That is why the decision of the municipality to expand and re-build it has come as a good and joyous news to me and I am convinced to all the other pedestrians who use it on a regular basis. The new bridge will be four times wider than its existing width, and it will be used for car traffic as well, which is quite useful at that road juncture. According to the projected time for the project, the bridge should be finished in about 4 months. However, the project information panel near the bridge does not give a starting date, which means that it could finish almost at any time next year. But the important thing point is the fact that it is being reconstructed and the timing couldn’t be better.
