A1 (Croatia) - Notable Structures

Notable Structures

A total of 361 structures—bridges, viaducts, flyovers, underpasses, passages, wildlife crossings, and tunnels—have been completed on the motorway between Zagreb and Vrgorac, and calculations indicate that 18.6 percent of the route between Zagreb and Split is located on those structures, which is a quite considerable percentage for a motorway of this length. By June 2011, Ravča-Vrgorac section was completed, including 5 viaducts, 4 flyovers and a tunnel.

As of September 2010, there are seven tunnels longer than 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) on the A1 motorway. The most notable among them are: the 5,821-meter (19,098 ft) long Mala Kapela Tunnel between Ogulin and Brinje interchanges and the 5,768-meter (18,924 ft) long Sveti Rok Tunnel between Sveti Rok and Maslenica interchanges. The Mala Kapela and Sveti Rok tunnels are not only the largest individual structures on the motorway but they are also the longest tunnels in Croatia. The tunnels separate three distinct climate zones. The Mala Kapela Tunnel spans between the continental climate of the central Croatia and the mountain climate of Lika, while the Sveti Rok Tunnel provides a link between Lika and its mountain climate and the Mediterranean climate of Dalmatia. Both of the Mala Kapela and Sveti Rok tunnels were originally operated as single tubes when they were opened for traffic in June 2005 until 30 May 2009, when the second tubes of the tunnels were also opened for traffic. The other major tunnels on the A1 motorway are the 2,300-meter (7,500 ft) long Plasina Tunnel situated between Otočac and Perušić interchanges and the Grič, Brinje and Konjsko tunnels. Lengths of the latter three range between 1,122 meters (3,681 ft) and 1,542 meters (5,059 ft).

The longest bridge on the A1 motorway is the 546-meter (1,791 ft) long Dobra Bridge spanning Dobra River near Karlovac. Other major bridges on the route are the Gacka, Miljanica and Dabar bridges—all of them longer than 350 meters (1,150 ft). Also, the A1 motorway comprises the 391-meter (1,283 ft) long Krka Bridge spanning Krka River and the 378-meter (1,240 ft) long Maslenica Bridge spanning Novsko Ždrilo strait. The Maslenica and Krka bridges are particularly significant as their respective main spans are 200 m (660 ft) long.

The A1 motorway also comprises the longest viaduct in Croatia — the 2,485-meter (8,153 ft) long Drežnik Viaduct situated between the Karlovac and Bosiljevo 1 interchanges. As of June 2011, there are six other major viaducts completed on the route–— the Kotezi Viaduct, Modruš 1, Mokro Polje, Jezerane, Srijane and Rašćane viaducts. All of them are longer than 500 meters (1,600 ft). The latest significant viaduct completed as a part of Ravča–Vrgorac section is Kotezi Viaduct at 1,214 meters (3,983 ft) surpassing all other viaducts on the route, except for Drežnik Viaduct. A dispute concerning naming of the Viaduct arose one month prior to opening of the motorway section containing the viaduct, and the structure was even signposted as the Bunina Viaduct for several days in June 2011, only to revert the name to the Kotezi Viaduct days prior to the opening ceremony itself. The section also comprises the 402-meter (1,319 ft) long Šare Viaduct.