R7 highway construction

Kosovo, Pristina-Kukes
Nonwoven geotextiles as separation, filtration layers

Problem:
southeastern European countries are showing a deep commitment to developing their national infrastructure, demonstrating a genuine understanding that improving road infrastructure, can bring immediate and long-term economic benefits to modern and developing economies.
The Kosovo government has turned to a joint venture, headed by Bechtel, to connect its country to Albania and the Adriatic sea. The plan involved an alternative route for Kukes-Pristina motorway. This solution eliminated almost 5 kilometres of costly tunnels and allowed to save millions of euros at the government.
The economic benefits extend well beyond Kosovo. Due to the different types of soil, the construction method and the rainfall management had to be carefully taken into account with different approaches.

Solution:
the decision was to use Geodren PPST 260, a geotextile made of high tenacity polypropylene, as separation layer between the subbase and the subgrade soil to prevent contamination.
The excellent filtration and separation performance of Geodren PPST 260 ensures that the subbase will retain its granulometric and load-bearing capacity for long time.
The same type of geotextile was also used to line all drainage ditches at the road foundations.
Geodren PPST 500 and Geodren PPST 700 were also used for protecting the lining of first-flush rainwater tank.