Highways in Croatia are the main transport network in
Croatia
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, capit ...
.
The Croatian classification includes several classes of highways:
* The main
motorways are named A (''autocesta'') accompanied by one or two digits. By and large they are
controlled-access
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
toll highways with a
ticket system.
*
Expressways (''brza cesta'') are
limited-access roads with
grade-separated intersections and by and large an increased speed limit without tolling. They are similar to motorways, but aren't always
dual carriageway, they have no
emergency lanes, and their speed limit is always lower. They either have standalone designations or are parts of major state routes (D), see below.
* Roads dedicated for motor vehicles (''cesta namijenjena isključivo za promet motornih vozila''), which is a category for highways which are
limited-access roads, usually similar to multiple-lane motorways/expressways, but which may have slow intersections. It has no specific naming convention, only a dedicated
traffic sign, and it mainly includes major state routes (D) or portions thereof, see below. An example is the
Jadranska Avenue in Zagreb, designated as Ž1040 county road.
Other than these, the national road classification includes the following categories which may also be referred to as ''highways'' in a general sense, with decreasing order of priority (and applicability of the term highway):
*
State roads, which are marked by letter D (''državna cesta'') and a single, double or triple digit number.
* County roads always are marked by letter Ž (''županijska cesta'') and a four digit number.
* The lowest classification comprises local roads, marked by letter L (''lokalna cesta'') and a five digit number.
Road operators differ according to the classification system: The designated motorways are operated by three different
concessionaire
A concession or concession agreement is a grant of rights, land or property by a government, local authority, corporation, individual or other legal entity.
Public services such as water supply may be operated as a concession. In the case of a p ...
s. The state roads are maintained almost exclusively by
Hrvatske ceste, while the county and local roads are managed by various
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
authorities. The road maintenance agencies are governed by various laws issued by the Parliament as well as bylaws issued by the Ministry of Transport.
Motorways
The primary high-speed
motorways are called (; singular: ), and they are defined as roads with at least three lanes in each direction (including
hard shoulder) and a speed limit of not less than . They are marked with a special road sign, similar to the road sign depicting a motorway/autoroute/autobahn in other parts of Europe.
The Croatian motorway () network is long.
Motorways in Croatia are defined by the
Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure.
The same applies to names of the motorway interchanges and rest areas.
History
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
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...
. When Croatia
declared independence in 1991, the only true motorways in the country were
Rijeka–Kikovica (the westernmost part of today's
A6),
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
–
Karlovac (the northernmost part of today's
A1) and Zagreb–
Slavonski Brod (the central part of today's
A3), the latter being part of the
Brotherhood and Unity Highway. The dream to connect the two largest Croatian cities Zagreb and
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, entertai ...
with a motorway () went back to the times of the
Croatian Spring. However, the construction of this project had not happened during Yugoslav period.
In 2005, the Zagreb–Split route was constructed. In addition, the A1 was extended towards
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
(currently at
Ploče
Ploče (; it, Porto Tolero) is a town and seaport in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia.
Geography
Ploče is located on the Adriatic coast in Dalmatia just north of the Neretva Delta and is the natural seaside endpoint of most north-south ...
), and the A3 was extended so it connects Zagreb to Croatian borders with both
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
(near
Lipovac) and
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
(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 the
A2 motorway from Zagreb to the northwest (Slovenian border). The
A9 between
Pula and the Slovenian border is also largely completed.
The construction of additional motorways has noticeably slowed in the 2010s, but it continues. , the
Cerovlje–Rijeka section of
A8, 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 11 motorway routes. The A1 is considered unfinished as it is planned to be extended from Ploče to Dubrovnik.
Operators
The network is managed by 3 operators, of which one in under fully government control and other two are operated by joint venture.
Motorways and sections
List of motorways
Motorway sections under construction
Planned motorway sections
Traffic cost revenue
In 2020, the network had a traffic of 62.256.768 vehicles, including 53.483.812 light vehicles and 8.772.956 heavy vehicles (
difference by axle height).
The travel cost is 6.8 euros per 100 km for light vehicles in closed system and 6.4 euros in open toll system, while for heavy ones are 29.2 euros per 100 km in closed system and 13.1 in open system.
Those costs generate a revenue of 286.6 millions of euros in 2020.
Accidents
Two third of motorway fatalities (67%) occurred in the third of the year between July and October.
Expressways
There is a wide variety of types of expressways in Croatia, in terms of number of lanes, accessibility and types of intersections comprised. They range from four lane expressways with grade-separated intersections and limited access - distinguished from the motorways by lack of emergency lanes only - to four or six lane urban expressways with numerous at-grade intersections and traffic lights or two lane limited access roads with grade separated intersections. The expressways include both incomplete motorways, built in stages,
and some state roads (with either limited access, more than two traffic lanes, grade-separated intersections or any combination thereof). There are even some instances of county roads which may be regarded expressways such as
Jadranska Avenue (Ž1040).
As a rule, the expressways are not tolled, however major tunnels on the expressways are tolled.
List of completed expressways
State roads
State roads are defined by legislation
as important routes for road traffic between various parts of the country. Classification of a road as a ''state road'' does not describe actual conditions of the road itself.
State roads in Croatia are assigned one, two or three digit numbers which generally comply with the following pattern
(although there are some exceptions to the rules):
* 1-19 are assigned to trunk roads, normally of considerable length, spanning between borders of various neighboring countries. An obvious exception to this is the
D9 state road however it spans from
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
border and the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
, along the southernmost portion of Pan-European
Corridor Vc.
* 20-99 are assigned to arterial roads on the mainland.
* 100s are assigned to island roads
* 200s are assigned to border crossing access roads.
* 300s are assigned to junction roads, connecting towns or cities (but not other state roads) to motorways or other major roads. Notable exceptions to this are
D307 and
D310 state roads, although the D307 originally did not connect to the
D29, but only to the
A2 motorway.
* 400s are assigned to mainland port and airport access roads.
* 500s are assigned to connecting roads, connecting two different state roads. Notable exceptions to this rule are the
D503 which connects to a port and the
D516 which connects to a border crossing checkpoint.
* 600s are provisional designations. For example, the road containing
Pelješac bridge
The Pelješac Bridge ( hr, Pelješki most, ) is a cable-stayed bridge in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Croatia. The bridge provides a fixed link from the southeastern Croatian semi-exclave to the rest of the country while bypassing Bosnia and Herzeg ...
, from
Komarna
Komarna is a village in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, in the municipality of Slivno; population 167 (2011). It is located near the larger village of Klek.
The village is south of the Neretva Delta, 70 km north of Dubrovnik on the coast of M ...
(
D8) to
Ston
Ston () is a settlement and a municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula.
History
Because of its geopolitical and strategic position, Ston has had a rich history since ant ...
(
D416), is designated as D674.
At the moment the state roads in Croatia have a combined length of .
D1 - D14
D20 - D77
D100 - D128
Tolls
In the Republic of Croatia, primarily a
closed toll system is applied to the entire motorway network tolls with multiple entrances and exits. The use of motorways is charged by mileage and vehicle category. At the entrance on the motorway, the user picks up the entrance card (or a record recorded on the
ENC device) and the payment is made on exit toll stations according to the length of the trip. The
open system is in use at toll stations Bregana(A3) and Rupa(A7).
Safety
Croatia had 73 road deaths per million inhabitants estimated in 2019.
See also
*
Transport in Croatia
*
Hrvatske autoceste
*
Autocesta Rijeka – Zagreb
*
BINA Istra
*
Autocesta Zagreb – Macelj
*
Hrvatske ceste
*
List of controlled-access highway systems
Many countries have national networks of controlled-access highways, the names of which vary from one country to another e.g. freeway or motorway. The networks do not always include all such highways, or even all the major ones in the country.
Asi ...
*
Evolution of motorway construction in European nations
*
Speed limits in Croatia
Maps
References
External links
HUKA - Croatian Association of Toll Motorways Concessionaires
{{Motorways in Europe
Road transport in Croatia