The A1 motorway (Albanian: Autostradë 1) refers to the segment between the towns of Rrëshen and Kalimash in Northern Albania. It is part of the greater Albania-Kosovo Highway stretching in Albania, from the Adriatic port city of Durrës to the border town of Kukës with Kosovo. The preceding and following segments are marked as SH30 and are planned to be encompassed under the A1 in the long term.
The Albania-Kosovo Highway is also known as (Rruga e Kombit (English: Highway of the Nation)), as a result of the long time separation experienced between ethnic Albanians of Kosovo and the Albanians of Albania. Eventually, once the Kosovan part of the project is finalized, the highway will link the Adriatic Sea port of Durres in Albania with the Pan-European corridor X. The project was completed within 3 years by the Bechtel-Enka consortium and involved the construction of dozens of bridges and a tunnel. The remaining sections between Vore and Rreshen are undergoing reconstruction.
The highway has 29 bridges and 2 parallel tunnels 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) long and is very important for tourism and commerce between both countries. The highway is largely known for its beautiful scenery as it passes along the Fan River valley which offers spectacular views of the surrounding mountain ranges.
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