The Brinje Tunnel is a four-lane tunnel in Croatia, an integral part of the

A1 motorway A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...

located between

Brinje Brinje is a municipality in Lika-Senj County, Croatia, located about 35 miles from Gospić. The town is formed around a castle called ''Sokolac'', which contains one of the most well preserved Gothic chapels in Croatia, St. Marys, which dates b ...

and

Žuta Lokva Žuta Lokva is a village in Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = ...

interchanges. The Brinje Tunnel is located immediately to the south of the

Mala Kapela Tunnel Mala Kapela Tunnel ( hr, Tunel Mala Kapela) is the most significant structure on the Croatian A1 motorway route. As it is long (northbound tube), Mala Kapela Tunnel is the longest tunnel in Croatia. The tunnel is geographically located between t ...

, the longest tunnel in Croatia. The tunnel is tolled within the

closed toll collection system, and there are no separate toll plazas related to the tunnel use.

Characteristics

The Brinje Tunnel consists of two tubes, opened for traffic in 2004. Length of the northbound tunnel tube is , while the southbound one is 2 m shorter at . The northern portal of the tunnel is located at an elevation of 496 m.a.s.l., while its southern portal is found at 495 m.a.s.l. The tunnel carriageways consist of two wide driving lanes and two wide marginal strips. wide inspection sidewalks are present in both of the tunnels. The tunnel is equipped with the most recent traffic management and security systems, including video surveillance, automatic detection of congestion and variable information traffic sign systems. There are 3 passages connecting the two tunnel tubes, accessible on foot. Naturally, the tunnel also has firefighting capabilities and fire detection systems. Electronic equipment of the tunnel facilitates use of two UHF frequencies (

HR1 hr1 is the first radio station of the Hessischer Rundfunk. History hr1 is the successor of ''Radio Frankfurt'', a radio program run by the American occupation government after World War II. After a formal law was issued, the radio station w ...

102.3 MHz and HR2 97.5 MHz) and use of cell phones. Speed limit applied in the tunnel is 100 km/h.

Safety

In 2007 the Brinje Tunnel was declared to be the safest tunnel in Europe in 2007 by the FIA and the German motoring club ADAC. The award was presented following an assessment of 150 tunnels in Europe carried out between 2005 and 2007 within the framework of European Tunnel Assessment Programme (EuroTAP), supported by the European Commission, coordinated by FIA and led by German motoring club ''ADAC''.

Traffic volume

Traffic is regularly counted and reported by

Hrvatske autoceste Hrvatske autoceste (HAC) or Croatian Motorways Ltd is a Croatian state-owned limited liability company tasked with management, construction and maintenance of motorways in Croatia pursuant to provisions of the Croatian Public Roads Act ( hr, Zakon ...

, operator of the motorway, and published by

Hrvatske ceste Hrvatske ceste (lit. ''Croatian roads'') is a Croatian state-owned company pursuant to provisions of the Croatian Public Roads Act ( hr, Zakon o javnim cestama enacted by the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia. The tasks of the company are def ...

. Substantial variations between annual ( AADT) and summer (ASDT) traffic volumes are attributed to the fact that the motorway carries substantial tourist traffic to the

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, 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) ...

resorts. The traffic count is performed using analysis of toll ticket sales.

References

External links

* {{Structurae, id=20041639, title=Brinje Tunnel
EuroTAP
Road tunnels in Croatia Buildings and structures in Lika-Senj County Tunnels completed in 2004

Characteristics

Safety

Traffic volume

See also

References

External links