Road Safety and Capacity Evaluation of the Kashar–Vorë–Durrës Expressway Segment

This paper presents a detailed assessment of traffic flow along a key corridor of the Albanian road network, focusing on road safety issues along the Tirana–Vorë–Durrës axis (Kashar–Vorë–Durrës section). This corridor serves one of the country’s principal industrial regions and experiences, on average, one accident every four days. Although a declining trend is observed, the rate remains significant. Albania’s adoption of the National Road Safety Strategy, as part of its alignment with European Union requirements under candidate country status, reflects the importance of the road transport sector, which accounts for approximately 76% of total transport volume. Implementation of the Strategy’s measures has contributed to a gradual reduction in accidents; however, fatality rates remain higher than EU averages, while injury rates are comparatively lower. Originally designed to expressway standards, the corridor has become increasingly hazardous due to insufficient urban planning and uncontrolled industrial development along its length. Approximately half of its 30 km are classified as accident “black spots.” To improve safety and accommodate projected traffic volumes of up to 67,000 vehicles per day, upgrading the corridor to motorway standards is recommended, alongside short-term measures such as access control, enhanced signage, and intelligent traffic management systems. Without such intervention, the Kashar–Vorë–Durrës segment estimated to cost €130 million to upgrade may reach operational saturation by 2027.