History
Construction began on the initiative of President Josip Broz Tito, who called the project the "Road of brotherhood and unity" (Autoput bratstva i jedinstva) after the motto of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. A first section between Zagreb and Belgrade, built with the effort of the Yugoslav People's Army and volunteer Youth Labour Brigades, opened in 1950.
Its importance caused it to be colloquially named autoput or autocesta (generic Serbo-Croatian expressions for "highway", "motorway"). This use has since largely faded out, after the successor states built further motorways.
In the 1960s and 70s the autoput became a much frequented holiday route for Turkish immigrants in West Germany and Austria (then called Gastarbeiter) visiting their original homeland during the summer vacation time, and for tourists to southeastern Europe. Entering communist but non-aligned Yugoslavia was far easier, for people from NATO countries such as Germany and Turkey, than entering any of the Warsaw Pact communist countries of the Balkan region that might have provided alternative routes.
Originally an ordinary road, the carriageway used to be congested with cars and trucks, especially in summertime, when overtired long-distance drivers caused numerous accidents. Wrecked cars usually remained in place for long periods of time, providing a grim reminder of the dangers of the highway. The situation slightly improved after some parts were brought up to modern motorway standards (two lanes for each direction plus an emergency lane) on the following sections built between 1977 and 1991:
- Kranj–Ljubljana: 20 km
- Jankomir interchange (Zagreb bypass)–Slavonski Brod (east): 207 km
- Sremska Mitrovica–Belgrade–Niš: 277 km
In 1991, several sections were affected by the Yugoslav wars, bringing severe damage, and causing the traffic to be almost completely discontinued in places.
Read more about this topic: Brotherhood And Unity Highway
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