Roads in Croatia - Road Transport - Motorways

Motorways

Motorways (Croatian: Autocesta, plural Croatian: autoceste)in Croatia applies to dual carriageway roads with at least two traffic lanes in each driving direction and an emergency lane. Direction road signs at Croatian motorways have green background with white lettering similar to the Swiss Autobahn. The designations of motorways are "A" and the motorway number.

The list of completed motorways is as follows (see individual articles for further construction plans and status):

• A1, Zagreb - Bosiljevo - Split - Vrgorac (E71, E65)
• A2, Zagreb - Krapina - Macelj (E59)
• A3, Bregana - Zagreb - Lipovac (E70)
• A4, Goričan - Varaždin/Čakovec - Zagreb (E71)
• A5, Osijek - Đakovo - Sredanci (E73)
• A6, Bosiljevo - Rijeka (E65)
• A7, Rupa - Rijeka bypass (E61)
• A9, Umag - Pula (E751)
• A11, Velika Gorica - Buševec

Toll is charged on most Croatian motorways, and exceptions are the A11 motorway, Zagreb bypass and Rijeka bypass, as well as sections adjacent to border crossings (except eastbound A3). Payment in kuna, all major credit cards and euros are accepted at all toll gates. Most motorways are covered by the closed toll collection system, where a driver receives a ticket at the entrance gates and pays at the exit gates according to the number of sections travelled. Open toll collection is used on some bridges and tunnels and short stretches of tolled highway, where drivers immediately pay the toll upon arriving. Various forms of prepaid electronic toll collection systems are in place which allow quicker collection of toll, usually at a discounted rate, as well as use of dedicated toll plaza lanes (for ENC system of the electronic toll collection).

All heavily traveled routes towards Slovenia, Hungary and Serbia are motorway connections, and almost all parts of Croatia are now easy to reach using motorways.

The 380 km long motorway A1 Zagreb - Split connects the continental part of Croatia with Mediterranean Dalmatia. It is complete with two lanes in both directions in its full length. The highway winds itself as a panoramic road through the Croatian hills. The highway currently ends near the Ploče sea port, but is planned to continue further on to Dubrovnik.

The most important edifice on the A1 is the Sveti Rok Tunnel (5.687 m), which goes through the famous Velebit mountain range barrier. The most modern, and at the same time the longest Croatian tunnel, is also along the A1: the Mala Kapela Tunnel (length 5,780 m), which passes through the Mala Kapela mountain range.

Since June 2005 the Istrian Y extends from the Slovenian border in Istria and the A7 connects Slovenia to Rijeka. The A2 connection between Zagreb via Hrvatsko Zagorje to Maribor was completed in May 2007.

Motorway A3 extends from Slovenia via the Zagreb bypass through the length of Slavonia to the Serbian border. In Slavonia there is now another motorway, A5, along the European route E73 (European north-south corridor Vc) between the Hungarian border at Beli Manastir, Osijek and the Bosnian border. This route will eventually continue as a modern motorway towards Sarajevo and further on to the Croatian sea port of Ploče.

The A4 connection from Zagreb to Varaždin and Čakovec exists since 2003, which was extended to the Hungarian border in October 2008 to complete the upgrade of the European route E71. The A6 route between Rijeka and Zagreb was constructed as an expressway in spring 2004, and upgraded to a full motorway in October 2008, thus upgrading the Croatian section of the European route E65. Together these two upgrades completed the European north-south corridor Vb.

A motorway connection of Zagreb to the important industrial city of Sisak is planned to be constructed as A11.

Significant tunnel and bridge construction projects in the south of Dalmatia are planned, such as the Biokovo tunnel near Makarska, which will connect the panoramic seashore road with the future A1, and a 2,374 m (7,789 ft) long Pelješac bridge, connecting the Pelješac peninsula to the Croatian mainland.

By 2008, numerous service areas and petrol stations had been constructed along all Croatian motorways. All Croatian motorways are equipped with enclosed service areas with gas stations and parking. Many areas have restaurants and children's playgrounds.