“There is no more luxurious place to start a road trip than Dubrovnik. Well, landing in Dubrovnik airport doesn’t send me into raptures, but seeing the city, some 20km up the coast, is as spectacular and exciting as the first time I saw it on a school trip when I was 12… Driving up the winding coastal road towards the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina requires steady nerves – the curves are demanding, the landscape too beautiful to ignore. So I stop along the way in Ston and Mali Ston, two tiny settlements encircled by ancient walls, fantastic spots for eating local mussels and oysters. If they’re in season, I buy a kilo from the stands along the road to take to my mother….”

Read the whole article here

The motorway network in Croatia is becoming longer and longer, so it is now safe to say that this is a country having one of the most developed road infrastructures in Europe.

The construction of the remaining 14.5-kilometer-long sections of the Zagreb-Rijeka Motorway contributed to this. Last October, the construction of the full profile of the motorway connecting the Croatian capital with Rijeka was completed.

Thanks to this, visitors to Croatia,  arriving by road in the North Adriatic from European countries will have a more pleasant and faster trip than ever. In addition, the wooded and increasingly interesting Gorski Kotar, the Croatian capital city of Zagreb and other continental destinations are now even closer to guests taking their holidays in the North Adriatic, so they will be able to enjoy an even more extensive excursion program.

The length of the Zagreb-Rijeka Motorway is 146.4 kilometers and it only takes 1 hour and fifteen minutes to travel the distance between the two cities. The motorway has 13 tunnels of the overall length of 10.3 kilometers and six bridges of 1.7 kilometers.

The Zagreb-Rijeka Motorway is part of the European E65 route and part of the pan-European 5b corridor going via Zagreb to the border crossing with Hungary (Goričan) and further to Budapest.

Concurrently with the opening of the remaining part of the Zagreb-Rijeka Motorway, the section between the Goričan border crossing on the Croatian side and the Letenye border crossing on the Hungarian side and the bridge on Mura were opened, thanks to which the full-profile motorway now connects Budapest and Rijeka.
The motorway stretches for 263.7 kilometers in Croatia.

In Hungary, where intensive work has also been done on its construction, the motorway is 232.5 kilometers long. Visitors from Budapest will now be able to reach the Croatian Adriatic in less than five hours by car, which will surely be another reason for the traditionally numerous tourists from Central and Eastern Europe to visit Croatia.

Read more about roads in Croatia and visit Autocesta Rijeka-Zagreb site at www.arz.hr

Tips for Smart Road Travel in Croatia:

Croatia has not exactly been on the top of the charts when it comes to the world’s best tourist destinations. But for people who want to enjoy natural beauty that is untainted by excessive commercialization, Croatia is fast picking up as a popular holiday spot.
Easy accessibility and the operation of low cost airlines like Ryan Air to this area have further encouraged tourist traffic to Croatia. However, since most of us are not too well aware about Croatia and its infrastructural facilities, travel and stay are major considerations for people visiting this country either for pleasure or on business. But thanks to a number of internet based companies that offer transportation in the form of taxi services and airport transfers, you can easily take care of all your conveyance needs even before you leave for Croatia. While choosing a taxi service in Croatia, keep the points mentioned below in mind if you want to take care of your travel needs both efficiently and economically:

If you want to engage a taxi in Croatia, then make sure that you do it with a web based service. There are a number of professional taxi services that let you book airport transfers or taxis in Croatia online. This way, you can land in Croatia without worrying about how you will get to your hotel or to another nearby city or destination from the airport. Booking online is especially helpful during tourist season when local taxis are both unavailable and expensive. In case you do not want to book a car for yourself, then you can book your seat on an airport shuttle or airport transfer minibus that will pick you up from the airport on your arrival and deliver you to your destination without your having to shell out megabucks since you can share the cost with other co-passengers.

Whenever you book someone for your airport transfers , it is a good idea to ensure that the drivers of your taxi in Croatia speak English and are well versed with all the roads that you might have to travel on. Most of the best taxi services in Croatia will assign you drivers who can take you wherever you want and provide you with all the information you need. Since no one will ever charge you extra for an English speaking driver, specify that you want one while booking with your taxi service. Apart from this, go for a service that does not charge you anything extra if your flight gets delayed. Also make sure that you know the rates you will be paying for each and every service rendered instead of getting unpleasantly shocked on seeing the bill.

If you are traveling with a group or with your family, then you can book yourself on a minibus or an airport shuttle service in Croatia with one of the online taxi companies. This would not only ensure that you find reliable and assured transportation when you land at the airport in Croatia, but it will also let you get the best prices possible. If you are traveling to Croatia with your family or if you are going there for the first time, then you should definitely book your taxi or airport shuttle service through the internet or on the phone a couple of days before landing there. It is also a good idea to call up or email your airport shuttle or taxi service right before you board your plane in order to remind them once again about your arrival.

Johnnie Trade under the leadership of Johnnie & Kathy Kazija provides valuable Taxi Coatia services. They are licensed to make all types of taxi transfers ( to / from airport or ferry terminal etc.) or taxi excursions to famous national parks or hystorical cities. Visit their website http://www.johnnie.hr/ for more information.

Last week at Brussels, Hrvatske autoceste – the Croatian Motorways Company was awarded for the tunnel Brinje of motorway Zagreb – Split (A1), as one of the safest European tunnels in 2007.

To come to this conclusion, EuroTAP  – European Tunnel Assessment Programme inspected 51 tunnels important for European road traffic located in 13 countries across Europe including Croatia with tunnels Ucka, Tuhobic, Plasina, Javorova Kosa, Gric and Mala Kapela.

Accoring to European Tunnel Assessment Programme, every fifth tunnel in Europe does not satisfy minimal safety standards. The most common shortcomings refer to a deficiency in fire protection and lacking escape and rescue routes.

Brinje tunnel is 1540 meters long. It was opened for traffic in the 2004 as part of Zagreb-Split Motorway.

More about roads in Croatia

Beside Peljesac Bridge, the Island of Ciovo is going to get its own bridge.

The offers for the project of the island of Ciovo – mainland bridge have been opened at the Hrvatske Ceste  – The Croatian Roads Company.

The offer that was submitted by the Zagreb Faculty of Civil Engineering has been accepted.

Facts about Ciovo Bridge:

• The new bridge will be located at about 850 meters east of Trogir.
• The lenght of the bridge will be 523 meters. The width is planned to be 5.45 meters.
• It will be constructed by 14 arches on 7 meters above the sea level.
• As the bridge will be the moveable one, the middle part of the bridge will move to allow passage for boats.

The price of the whole project is not known yet. However, it is expected that bridge will be built pretty soon.

The new Ciovo bridge will replace the existing, small and overcrowded one that connects the island with Trogir.

Dual carriage highway section from Kikovica to Oštrovica opened >> The 7.4-kilometre dual carriage highway section from Kikovica to Oštrovica, worth 276 million Kuna, a section within the Rijeka – Zagreb highway, was officially opened last week by Croatian Construction Minister Marina Matulović Dropulić.

The Rijeka-Zagreb highway has now 110 kilometers of dual carriage highway sections, and the rest of 36.5 kilometers should be build in 2008.

The minister said that the 20 percent of the newly-opened section were viaducts and subways.

The construction works carried out by Croatian companies took 16 months, a shorter time period than planned.

More info on Rijeka – Zagreb Autoput official site http://www.arz.hr

Update – The official Peljesac Bridge Study info:

The Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development presented in Dubrovnik on Monday a study on the economic, transport and demographic impact of the construction of the Pelješac Bridge.

The study was commissioned early this year from experts of the faculties of economics and transport in Zagreb to see whether it was justified to build one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Croatia which will connect all parts of the country into one integrated traffic system, said the state secretary for the sea, Branko Bacic.

He underlined that construction was justified from the geopolitical, economic and transport aspects.

The construction of the Pelješac Bridge will significantly improve traffic flow and the traffic connection of Croatia’s south with the rest of the country as well as within Dubrovnik-Neretva County, reduce the time and costs of travel, and raise traffic safety, with the number of casualties expected to drop about 20%, the presentation heard.

Car, bus and truck traffic is expected to go up 5% in the coming period and the construction of the bridge will put an end to the traffic disintegration and isolation of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, said Ivan Bošnjak of the Zagreb Faculty of Transport Studies, adding that the bridge would also revitalize Peljesac peninsula.

Economist Branimir Lokin said that those objecting to the construction were clashing with Croatia’s development as the bridge would bring about a development explosion in southern Croatia as well as in two neighboring cantons in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He estimated that the construction would increase employment by 3.6% and investment by 6.8% as well as attract considerable capital, thus facilitating dynamic development. (source – Hina)

This project is one of the four major investment projects in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. The bridge will bypass a short stretch of land at Neum, Bosnia-Herzegovina’s only outlet to the sea, which cuts off the southernmost tip of Croatia, including Dubrovnik , from the rest of the country.

The evaluation study of the effects of construction of Peljesac Bridge in the context of economic, transport and demographic changes of Peljesac , Korcula , Mljet and surrounding area, has been presented yesterday at Hotel Villa Argentina in Dubrovnik.

To read what are Croatian Government’s expectations of Peljesac Bridge project, check here

The first one is route Gaženica – hub Zadar 2 that opened for traffic by Croatian Minister Božidar Kalmeta. He opened the new four-line route Gaženica – hub Zadar 2,  positioned at the motorway Zagreb – Šestanovac, 17.5 km long. In front of the hub Zadar 2, the minister told the journalists that this represented one of the most important infrastructural objects in the Zadar county and an important starter for the development of the whole region. Kalmeta also mentioned the importance of the future port Gaženica, which will receive 220 million kunas of state funding, offering also a great opportunity for the progress of the whole area.

The second route is A5 Djakovo-Sredanci Section of Motorway that was opened for traffic by Croatian Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader, who has opened the first section of the A5 motorway between Beli Manastir, Osijek and Svilaj, between Sredanci and Djakovo. Some 1.4 billion kuna was invested into 23 kilometres of road which will in the end measure nearly 89 kilometres and pass between Hungarian and Bosnia-Herzegovina borders, becoming a part of the 5C corridor between Budapest, Osijek, Sarajevo and Ploce.

The construction works on the bridge, that was designed by Zagreb’s Faculty of Civil Engineering, will last four years and the costs are estimated to revolve around two billion kuna – the biggest bridge currently under construction in Europe.

The bridge was designed in such a way to allow for the navigation of ships of up to 55 meters in height and 400 meters in width.

The bridge will provide a better connection between the Dubrovnik area and the southern Croatian islands of Korcula, Mljet and Lastovo.

An investment of the Croatian Roads company, the bridge will be built by “Konstruktor” from Split, and “Viadukt” and “Hidroelektra” from Zagreb… Read more about Peljesac Bridge

Prime Minister Sanader said at the opening that the completion of the route to Ploce and then to Dubrovnik was one of his government’s priorities.

This newest 37-kilometer-long motorway section costs 15 kuna to ride on.

The first section of the new motorway, the one that connects Bosiljevo and Vrbovsko,  is expecetd to be open for traffic by the beginning of the next summer.

It is also expected that new Rijeka – Zagreb motorway will be finished by the end of 2008.

The Motorway’s construction works began in August 2005 and includes 8 flyovers, 10 underpasses and one bridge.

The cost was about 59 million Kuna.

It is expected that next major Istrian road project will be construction of 8 km long Pula – Medulin motorway.

The work is expected to start next year.

This part of Rijeka bypass was due to be opened in July, but was postponed because of the land slide on some sections of the road.

New Rijeka bypass is about 8.5 km long, includes 13 viaducts and 3 tunnels and due to its complex construction works was one of the most expensive road sections in Croatia.

The continuation of the construction works on the new stretch of the bypass (to Krizisce) is expected to start next spring.