TRIESTE – An agreement has been signed for the widening of the Bertoki access road in Koper, a key project for links between the port and the motorway network.
Slovenian motorway company DARS, the Infrastructure Directorate and the Municipality of Koper signed the contract with the consortium formed by Kolektor CPG and CPK for the execution of the works. Also present at the signing were Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek and the top management of Luka Koper (the company managing the port), including Management Board president Nevenka Kržan.
The project provides for the widening to four lanes of a 1.6-kilometre section of the Bertoki access road, a strategic route for access to the Slovenian port. Total investment amounts to just under €24 million, with works expected to last 20 months.
Construction is due to start within a month. During the works, freight and local traffic will be managed so as to limit disruption. At a later stage, during the reconstruction of the roundabouts, heavy traffic will be diverted onto the new Sermin access road, currently scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.
According to DARS, the goal is to keep to schedule without delays. The project is regarded as complementary to other works under way in the area, in particular the second railway track between Koper and Divača and the Sermin access road itself.
From an urban perspective, mayor Aleš Bržan highlighted the impact on reducing congestion and on local economic prospects, with expected benefits also in terms of employment and quality of life. For the port of Koper, the widening of the access road is an essential piece of infrastructure. As Nevenka Kržan underlined, the development of the port and its logistics activities depends on the availability of efficient connections: together with the new rail link and the Sermin road connection, the project will help ease urban traffic and improve the port’s overall accessibility.
