A-1 motorway | ||||
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Autoput A-1 | ||||
Princess Xenia motorway | ||||
Route information | ||||
Part of E-65 / E-80 / E-763 | ||||
Length | 165 km (103 mi) | |||
Existed | 13 July 2022–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | M-1 in Đurmani near Bar | |||
East end | A2 in Boljare (border with Serbia) | |||
Location | ||||
Country | Montenegro | |||
Municipalities | Bar, Podgorica, Kolašin, Andrijevica, Berane | |||
Highway system | ||||
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The A-1 motorway, called Princess Xenia motorway (Montenegrin: Auto-put Princeza Ksenija), named after the Princess Xenia of Montenegro, first female driver in Balkans, is a motorway in Montenegro. This motorway is also known as the Bar-Boljare motorway (Montenegrin: Auto-put Bar — Boljare). In 2022, the first part of the motorway was open for public traffic, from Smokovac near Podgorica to Mateševo near Kolašin.[1]
It is part of the larger international project between Montenegro and Serbia that connects to the Belgrade–Bar motorway in Serbia. The motorway will connect Belgrade with Podgorica and the harbour city of Bar, Montenegro's main seaport.
Italy, Montenegro and Serbia are lobbying to list the route as one of the Pan-European corridors, and it is frequently referred to as part of proposed Corridor XI, or 4B - an envisioned ferry/motorway corridor linking Bari, Bar, Belgrade and Bucharest.
The road's construction began on May 11, 2015 and the first 41km section opened on July 20, 2022 at a cost of $1 billion USD.[2] The project cost was significantly higher than expected, partially due to payment being made in US dollars and thus subject to currency fluctuations. Other commonly cited reasons for the higher cost include the addition of a turnpike, delays in construction, local corruption, and Chinese lending practices under the Belt and Road Initiative.[3][4]