Roads in Croatia - Road Transport

Road Transport

From the time of Napoleon and building the Louisiana road, the road transport in Croatia has significantly improved, topping most European countries. Croatian highways are widely regarded as being one of the most modern and safe in Europe. This is because the largest part of the Croatian motorway and expressway system (autoceste and brze ceste, resp.) has been recently constructed, and further construction is continuing.

A major reason for the motorway construction "mania" of the 2000s is a previous political halt of the major Croatian highway project, today's A1, in the 1970s and 1980s under former Yugoslavia. When Croatia declared independence in 1991, the only true motorways in the country were Zagreb–Karlovac (the northernmost part of A1) and Zagreb-Slavonski Brod (A3), the latter being part of the highway "Bratstvo i jedinstvo". The dream to connect the two largest Croatian cities Zagreb and Split with a motorway (autocesta) went back to the times of the Croatian Spring. However, the construction of this project had been blocked by the ruling Communist Party. Recently, after so many years of waiting, the construction of this route has been realized, in addition to the extension of the A3 so it connects Zagreb to Croatian borders with both Serbia (near Lipovac) and Slovenia (near Bregana). There is also a motorway from Zagreb to Rijeka, the A6, as well as the A4 motorway from Zagreb to the northeast (Hungarian border) as well as a motorway from Zagreb to the northwest (Slovenian border), the A2. The A9 between Pula and the Slovenian border is also largely completed.

As of 2011, the construction of various additional motorways is planned, such as the extension of the A1 from Split to Ploče and onwards to Dubrovnik, while the A8 (Kanfanar-Rijeka, the remaining part of the Istrian Y) is being upgraded from semi-highway status. The other motorways are in various early stages of development, coming up to a total of 13 motorway routes.

The initial setup was made under the first HDZ government which contracted Bechtel Corporation; this was later replaced by the effort of the SDP-led government effort led by Radimir Čačić; and then continued by the HDZ government under Ivo Sanader. While the pace of development accelerates, so do environmental concerns, and concerns relating to the use and abuse of eminent domain by institutions involved in them. Especially criticized was the A11 Zagreb-Sisak, suspected of being politically motivated and inefficiently built. At the contrary, Zagreb-Split trait construction enjoyed a constant support from Croatian public and its on-schedule completion was marked with enormous joy and pride all through the country.

Tourism is of major importance for the Croatian economy, and most tourists come to vacation in Croatia in their own cars. Without adequate roads, the traffic would get rather jammed during the summer months. For this reason, and as a means for stimulating urgently needed economic growth, highways have become indispensable for the sustainable development of this country. Croatia already has a considerable highway density for a country that still has to cope with the consequences of Communism and the recent war.

As of 2006, Croatia has 28,344 kilometers (17,612 mi) of roads. Out of these, there are 23,979 km (14,900 mi) of paved and 4,365 km (2,712 mi) of unpaved roadways