The beach road in Dhërmi has turned into a long line of cars. Hundreds of vehicles have been blocked, while in some cases the wait has exceeded an hour and a half.
The problem is not only related to the high influx of vacationers. Cars parked on both sides of the road have significantly narrowed the passage space. In some segments, two vehicles cannot pass at the same time and a movement in the opposite direction is enough for traffic to stop completely.
Despite the situation, there is no visible intervention to remove vehicles blocking the road or to organize traffic. Vacationers complain that traffic can remain frozen for more than 90 minutes.
According to reports from the area, the situation changes only when personalities or their escorts have to pass through this segment. Citizens also cite as an example the cases when Prime Minister Edi Rama is in Dhërmi, when the road is cleared and traffic is managed quickly. For the rest, the wait continues among parked cars and immobile columns.
Dhërmi is not the only case. On August 9, thousands of vehicles created kilometer-long queues from the Llogara Tunnel towards Orikum and Vlora. The flow came mainly from Palasa, Drimadhesi, Dhërmi, Jala and Himara, while in some segments the traffic developed at a very slow pace.
But on the road to Dhërmi beach, the August influx also clashes with an old infrastructure and management problem. The High State Audit Office has previously identified problems with the roads near Dhërmi beach, citing traffic and difficulties in providing services as concerns for the area.
At the height of the tourist season, one of the most frequented destinations in the south remains hostage to a road full of cars. Tourists arrive in Dhërmi, but it may take them longer to get to the beach than it would for part of the journey south.
