A9 (Croatia) - Route Description

Route Description

The A9 motorway spans the peninsula of Istria and is a significant north–south motorway in Croatia connecting Pula, the largest city in the south of the region, to the cities of Rovinj, Poreč, Novigrad, Umag; and ending at Kaštel and Plovanija at the border crossings into Slovenia south of Koper. This part of the road network of Croatia is also a part of European route E751; Koper–Kanfanar–Pula and Kanfanar–Rijeka. The motorway is of major importance to Croatia in terms of economic development, especially for tourism and as a transit and transport route. The road carries significant transit and tourist traffic as it runs along Adriatic Sea coast linking a large number of tourist resorts.

The motorway runs for 78.3 kilometres (48.7 miles) between the border crossing access roundabout—the junction of the D200 and D510 state roads—at its northern end and the D66 state road serving Pula and Pula Airport at its southern end. The route connects towns and resorts in the western, southern and central parts of Istria trough a total of 9 interchanges and the state road network acting as feeder roads. The route largely runs about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) inland relative to the west coast of Istria, serving a number of tourist resorts, such as Savudrija and Umag via the eponymous interchange with the Ž5002 and Ž5003 county roads, and Novigrad via the D301. There is also an alternate, southern link to Umag via the D300 state road. This part of the route generally follows a north–south path as it approaches Lim valley. After crossing the valley, which is spanned by the Limska Draga Viaduct, the route turns southeast towards Višnjan. Thereafter, the A9 route resumes the original north–south orientation to Baderna interchange with the D302 road serving Poreč and Medaki interchange with the D21 road. The D21 runs generally parallel to the A9 and it is accessible from all A9 interchanges directly or through short connectors. From there, the route again turns to the southeast to cross the Mirna River, until it reaches the Kanfanar interchange. The interchange is a junction of the A9 and the A8 routes forming the Istrian Y system, while providing access to Rovinj via the D303 road. Between Kanfanar and Pula, the route turns more to the south and gradually approaches the west coast of the peninsula, bypassing Vodnjan and providing access to Fažana and Brijuni National Park. The route terminates in Pula interchange with the D66 road and the Pula bypass road.

The A9 motorway has at least two traffic lanes and an emergency lane in each direction along its entire length, except at the Mirna Bridge and the Limska Draga Viaduct where there are two traffic lanes instead. The motorway comprises several types of interchanges at the motorway exits: At Kanfar and Pula there are cloverleaf interchanges; Višnjan and both Vodnjanexits are trumpet interchanges; Buje exit is a diamond interchange; and the rest are partial cloverleaf interchanges. There are a number of rest areas along the motorway providing various types of services, ranging from simple parking spaces and restrooms to filling stations and other facilities. As of September 2011 the motorway has ten interchanges, in addition to the roundabout at the northern terminus, providing access to numerous towns and cities and the Croatian state road network.

An automatic traffic monitoring and guidance system is in place along the motorway. It consists of measuring, control and signalling devices located in zones where driving conditions may vary; such as at interchanges, viaducts, bridges and zones where fog and strong wind are known to occur. The system uses variable traffic signs to communicate changing driving conditions, possible restrictions, and other information to motorway users. The A9 motorway mainly runs through the coastal plains and rolling hills of Istria, although the northern part of the route traverses two large valleys, requiring two large structures, the Mirna Bridge and the Limska Draga Viaduct, to carry the route across.