A8 (Croatia) - History

History

The construction of the A8 motorway (and the Istrian Y as a whole) has its origin in 1968, when the Croatian Parliament endorsed a petition by Istrian legislators for the construction of a modern road between the peninsula and the rest of Croatia. Subsequently, Istrian municipalities started a public bond to fund the construction of the Učka Tunnel. This construction happened between 1976 and 1981, including the construction of a 22.6-kilometre (14.0 mi) route section between Matulji and Lupoglav.

The Y shape formed by the A8 and the A9 routes was originally defined by highway planning documents decided upon in Rijeka and Istria, subsequently incorporated in highway planning documents of the Republic of Croatia in 1988. Lupoglav–Cerovlje was the next section to be completed, in 1988. The A8 route was extended to the Rogovići interchange between 1992 and 1998 and the remaining section to Kanfanar was completed in 1999.

As the construction was comparatively slow due to a lack of funding, a motorway concession for the A8 and A9 motorways was granted to BINA Istra for a period of 32 years. The build-operate-transfer concession agreement mandated construction, maintenance and management of the route and its upgrade to motorway standards; this requirement included the building of dual carriageways when the annual average daily traffic (AADT) reached 10,000 vehicles per day or when the average summer daily traffic (ASDT) reached 16,000 vehicles per day. The latter was achieved in 2005 and the motorway upgrade started in 2008, even though the AADT at the time was only 8,500 vehicles. The A8 expansion was commenced by the operator, BINA Istra, immediately following a similar expansion of the A9; on the latter, the entire route was widened except for the two largest bridges, for which the expansion was postponed. The expansion of the A8 was initially limited to the Kanfanar–Rogovići section because the remainder of the route required additional permits and consequently an extended preparation period. On 29 October 2011, the Kanfanar–Rogovići section was upgraded to motorway standards, including four traffic lanes, and the route's designation changed from B8 to A8 (as required by legislated standards). The construction performed along the section entailed deep and long cuts requiring temporary traffic stoppages due to explosive blasting.