Roads intervention approach

The case of the participatory drafting and the approval of the General Local Plan (GNL) of the Municipality of Dropull in the South of Albania, represents in itself a good example of how the social responsibility of the professionals and institutions must act on the spot, in order to be able to initiate constructive development processes.  
Interestingly enough, such a planning example started with no financial resources, but with the maximal will of people, community and authorities to work together. 
Given the rural character of Dropull and the potentials inherent to it, the lack of local reference landmarks (despite the richness of the landscape and its territory,) led to a Strategic Objective of the project that aimed to consider Dropull Municipality as a “linear city” with five main centers. The five centers are developed in proximity with the main motorway and around five main villages, which have distinct characteristics and development potentials. Such potentials could be used as energisers for the development of the surrounding areas. Indeed, the concept behind the “linear city” also helps the reading of Dropull as a link between the two main regional hubs, Gjirokastër (Albania) and Ioannina (Greece). 
The aim was to transform the role and weight of Dropull’s territorial gravity from an area with a mere ‘transit status’ between two main/bigger cities, to a “complementary network of settlements and services” that uses its  own  local  potentials  and  regional  competitiveness  to  develop  as  a  whole.  This  means  concentrating exclusively on  the  development  strategies  and  investments  in  the  targeted  areas  and  living  settlements (villages). 
In this context, the Municipality focused the planned actions by prioritizing and selecting (based on the financial possibilities of funding through this proposal) interventions to upgrade key parts of the municipal road network to support the above-mentioned "supplementary network of settlements and services". 
The  approach  in  the  context of  creating  a  "supplementary  network of  settlements and  services"  by  the Municipality of Dropull is a source of inspiration for the two municipalities on the Greek side. As a first approach the upgrade of municipal road sections is chosen for the approach as a "linear city" with three main centers for the Municipality G Karaiskakis and four for the municipality of Central Tzoumerka.   
In this context, the selected road interventions by all three partners concern the support of the principle of the "complementary network of settlements and services" focusing as a priority on the most isolated and disadvantaged areas. 
The main  criterion  for  the  selection  of  interventions  is  the  operational  efficiency  that  is expected to  be achieved, expressed by the indicator RCR56:Time savings due to improved road infrastructures (equivalent man-days/year) in relation to the achieved output indicators RCO46. 

The project refers to the upgrading of road surfaces, technical infrastructure and flood protection without changing the horizontal and elevation marking, with the consequence that the length of the road remains the same before and after the interventions. 

Innovative   environmental approach

As mentioned, nowadays, construction and maintenance of roads are performed considering only technical conditions without giving a main role to the environmental impact. 
The development of the new web-based tool is determined, with the goal of adopting radical innovation by co-creating  new  public  infrastructure  planning and  assessment  tools  completely  replacing  existing management models in road infrastructure upgrading. The new tool will identify environmental criteria as a basic criterion for the design, construction and maintenance of road projects with the aim of climate neutrality, reducing consumption of natural resources and reducing costs. 
The  new  tool  XT Roads tool is  based  on    Life  Cycle  Assessment  (LCA),  a  systematic  method  used  to  evaluate  the environmental impact of a product, process, or service throughout its entire life cycle—from raw material extraction  and  production  to  use,  maintenance,  and  disposal.  LCA  is  crucial  for  identifying resource-intensive phases, reducing emissions, and improving sustainability strategies. It directly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), by promoting efficient resource use and reducing carbon footprints in various industries, including construction. In the context of European regulations, LCA plays a key role in aligning projects with sustainability goals, particularly the EU Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan. 
Applying LCA in road construction offers significant benefits by providing a transparent and science-based assessment  of  the  environmental  impacts  associated  with  materials,  construction  methods,  and maintenance, throughout the road’s entire life cycle. It allows public authorities and decision-makers to compare different proposed alternatives, not only based on cost and technical specifications, but also on sustainability  criteria,  such  as  carbon emissions,  energy  consumption,  and  material  circularity.  This  is particularly relevant for public procurement processes, where sustainabilityconsiderations are increasingly integrated  into  decision-making  frameworks.  By  incorporating  LCA  results  into  the  final  assessment  of alternative  proposed  solutions,  municipalities  can  prioritize  contractors  that  offer  cost-effective,  yet environmentally friendly solutions, ensuring that infrastructure development aligns with long-term climate goals and sustainability commitments.