Autocesta A1

	Template: Infobox high-ranking street / Maintenance / HR-A
	Autocesta A1 in Croatia
	map
	In operation In planning
	Basic data
Operator:
further operator:	; Autocesta Rijeka-Zagreb dd (ARZ)
Overall length:	569.3 km
of which in operation:	480.7 km
of which in planning:	88.6 km
County :	City of Zagreb ; Zagreb ; Karlovac ; Lika-Senj ; Zadar ; Šibenik-Knin ; Split-Dalmatia ; Dubrovnik-Neretva ;

The Autocesta A1 ( Croatian for "Motorway A1"), also called Dalmatinska autocesta or simply Dalmatina , is the longest and most important motorway in Croatia and connects the capital Zagreb with Karlovac , Gospić and the port cities of Zadar , Šibenik , Split and, since 2013, Ploče . The extension to Dubrovnik is being planned.

The motorway is part of European routes 65 and 71 .

Of the 569.3 km long section, the 480.7 km section between Zagreb and Metković is currently in operation. The section from Ravča to Vrgorac was opened on June 30, 2011. Another 10.7 km long section from Vrgorac to Ploče and the further section between Ploče and Metković were opened on December 20, 2013.

In May 2009, construction of the Doli - Dubrovnik section began only formally shortly before local municipal elections and was canceled again.

The construction costs of the motorway have so far been three billion euros .

On the currently operated section Zagreb and Vrgorac a total of 351 road structures, including a. Bridges , tunnels , overpasses , underpasses, etc., were built that represent around 20% of the length of this section of the motorway.

The toll is collected at the toll stations near Zagreb and Dubrovnik and at the respective junction . The average price per kilometer is around 0.47 Croatian kuna . The motorway section from Zagreb to triangle Bosiljevo 2 is managed by the motorway operator Autocesta Rijeka-Zagreb dd (ARZ), the rest by the operating company Hrvatske autoceste doo

Location in the motorway network

The A1 has (planned) connection to the following other motorways and expressways:
City area of Zagreb		(1) Cross Lučko
Posavska autocesta		(1) Cross Lučko
Primorsko-goranska autocesta		(6) Bosiljevo triangle 2
Kvarnerska autocesta		(9) Žuta Lokva triangle
Autocesta A10		(33) Metković triangle
Jadranska Magistrala		(39) Osojnik triangle (from 20 ??)
Continuation in Bosnia and Herzegovina		Border crossing Nova Mokošica-Ivanica (from 20 ??)

history

The viaduct next to the village of Jezerane

Since the independence of Croatia, the Autoput Bratstvo i jedinstvo (today the A3 ) is no longer considered the most important thoroughfare in Croatia.

The construction of this highway is connected with the Croatian Spring . The section from Zagreb to Karlovac was completed in 1972, but construction did not continue in the following years.

After Croatia's independence, the construction of the Rijeka - Karlovac connection began. The bridge near Maslenica, which was destroyed in the war, was rebuilt relatively quickly as an advance payment for the motorway. This was followed by the construction of a tunnel at Sveti Rok .

State law peculiarities

As one of the few countries in the world Croatia is on the mainland by about Bosnia and Herzegovina belonging Neum corridor bisected. For this reason, travelers currently have to cross Bosnian-Herzegovinian territory a few kilometers south of Ploče on their way to Dubrovnik . There are border and customs controls there, but these were handled relatively laxly. Since Croatia's accession to the European Union on July 1, 2013, this border has been an external EU border and must therefore be more strictly controlled and monitored. Intra-Croatian travel and transport traffic is therefore burdened with some restrictions and delays. A possible accession to the Schengen Agreement would make this situation even worse.

As the Croatian Transport Minister Oleg Butković stated in April 2017, the construction work on the Pelješac Bridge to bypass the Bosnian-Herzegovinian territory, which has since been suspended, is to be continued in autumn 2017 and completed in 2022. The cost of the bridge is estimated at around 266 million euros (1.75 billion kuna). It is expected that 85% of the costs will be borne by the European Union . Should the EU refuse to finance the project, Croatia would, according to the Ministry of Transport, raise the necessary funds from its own resources.

Further expansion

According to current plans, the A1 motorway should lead from Ploče to Osojnik on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina . The further route of the Adriatic-Ionian motorway (Croatian: Jadransko-jonska autocesta ) to Montenegro is not yet known. There are plans for the motorway to run 30 km through Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Trebinje ) and then reach Montenegro. According to another version, the motorway should run through Croatia to Debeli Brijeg on the border with Montenegro.

Open to traffic

Years of construction	section	length	Traffic transfer	overall length
1970	Start of construction			000,000 km
1970 - 1972	Zagreb - Karlovac	039.280 km		039.280 km
1972	Construction work is stopped by the then Yugoslav central government for political reasons .
1999 - 2001	Karlovac - Vukova Gorica	018.160 km		057.440 km
	Overall for the years 1972–2001			057.440 km
2001 - 2003	Vukova Gorica - Bosiljevo 2	007.810 km	06/26/2003	065,250 km
2001-2003	Bosiljevo 2 - Mala Kapela tunnel	039.289 km	06/30/2003	104.539 km
2001 ¹ - 2003	Gornja Ploča - Zadar 2	054.422 km	06/30/2003	158.961 km
	Overall for the years 2001–2003			101.521 km
2002 - 2004	Mala Kapela tunnel - Gornja Ploča	100.873 km	July 15–24, 2004	259.834 km
2002-2004	Zadar 2 - Pirovac	037.010 km	06/30/2004	296.844 km
2002-2004	Vrpolje - Dugopolje	044.743 km	06/30/2004	341.587 km
2001 - 2005	Mala Kapela tunnel	005.250 km	06/26/2005	346.837 km
2002-2005	Pirovac - Vrpolje	033.511 km	06/26/2005	380.348 km
	Overall for the years 2004–2005			221.387 km
2005 - 2007	Dugopolje - Šestanovac	036.872 km	06/27/2007	417.220 km
	Overall for the years 2005–2007			036.872 km
2006 - 2008	Šestanovac - Ravča	040.270 km	12/22/2008	457.490 km
	Overall for the years 2006–2008			040.270 km
2008 - 2011	Ravča - Vrgorac	010.330 km	06/30/2011	468.500 km
	Overall for the years 2008 - 2011			010.330 km
2011 - 2013	Vrgorac - Ploče - Metković	012,200 km	December 20, 2013	480,700 km

¹ - Sveti Rok tunnel and Maslenica bridge from 1993

The track tunnel Mala Kapela - Gornja Ploča is 101 km, the longest section that has ever been released in Croatia on a day to traffic.

Toll system

Toll booth at Ravča

From a toll point of view, the Croatian motorway network is a star-shaped, closed system with the center of Zagreb. Most motorway connections end at the capital Zagreb, which is why toll barriers have to be crossed before reaching this center. From Zagreb you can reach the respective destination exit without further stops. Toll bills are always made at Zagreb or the respective entrance or exit toll station. The largest toll clearing office in Croatia is the Lučko toll station on the A1 in front of Zagreb.

As of May 2019, at less frequented exits (e.g. the Vučevica exit) between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the only option is to be able to leave the motorway using the ENC payment method, since the toll stations are unoccupied during this time . This is announced several times on signs before departure.

In June 2009, an additional toll booth to the Lučko toll booth was completed, which is about two kilometers in front of it. Only cashless means of payment are accepted at the Demerje toll station. In addition to paying by credit card, there is also the option of purchasing a rechargeable prepaid card, which is worthwhile for frequent motorway journeys. All Croatian toll stations also have so-called ENC passages, which are intended for vehicles with a built-in electronic toll billing system (automatic radio system) (ENC, Croatian elektronička naplata cestarine , German electronic toll billing).

Problems with motorway construction

Engineering structures

The Mala Kapela tunnel

The Sveti Rok tunnel (2007)

The many artificial structures that are caused by the difficult topography are striking. They make up about 10.8% of the route. On the 460 km long way from Zagreb to Ploče you drive through a total of 23.9 km of tunnels and cross over 25.6 km of bridges. Special structures are (tunnels only specified with a length of more than 1,000 m)

Drežnik Viaduct over the Kupa (at 2,485 m the longest bridge in Croatia)
Mala Kapela tunnel 5,801 m / 5,761 m (longest tunnel in Croatia)
Brinje tunnel 1,561 m / 1,540 m
Plasina tunnel 2,300 m / 2,300 m
Grič tunnel 1,244 m / 1,244 m
Sveti Rok tunnel 5,727 m / 5,679 m (second longest tunnel in Croatia)
Konjsko tunnel 1,198 m / 1,198 m

In all tunnels, with the exception of the two longest, both tubes were completed and cleared at the same time. On May 30, 2009, the second tubes of the Mala Kapela and Sveti Rok tunnels were opened to traffic.

Individual evidence

↑ Slobodna Dalmacija, Ceste - putovi u civilizaciju, September 14, 2003 (Croatian)

↑ VIDEO: Pogledajte kako izgleda nova još neotvorena dionica Dalmatine. dnevnik.hr, May 19, 2011, accessed June 11, 2011 (Croatian).

↑ Dalmatina: pola milijarde za dionicu do Ploča. February 22, 2010, accessed April 27, 2011 (Croatian).

↑ Autocesta stiže do Ploča krajem 2013. Accessed on May 25, 2013 .

↑ Obilježen Početak radova na dionici Dubrovnik-Doli, autoceste A1 Zagreb-Split Dubrovnik. (No longer available online.) May 11, 2009, archived from the original on November 8, 2011 ; Retrieved April 27, 2011 (Croatian). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.

↑ Ceste Teško do juga Hrvatske. September 11, 2009, accessed April 27, 2011 (Croatian).

↑ Demantij iz HAC-a: 'Dalmatina nije tri puta skuplja od autoceste Zagreb-Sisak. April 9, 2010, archived from the original on November 8, 2011 ; Retrieved April 27, 2011 (Croatian).

↑ HAC motorway overview ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Croatian) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hac.hr

^ Pelješac Bridge to Be Constructed Within 3.5 Years . ( total-croatia-news.com [accessed May 8, 2017]).

^ Eight Finalists Selected for Construction of Pelješac Bridge . ( total-croatia-news.com [accessed May 7, 2017]).

↑ Independent Quality Review Supports EU Financing for Pelješac Bridge . ( total-croatia-news.com [accessed May 7, 2017]).

^ Pelješac Bridge to Be Constructed Within 3.5 Years . ( total-croatia-news.com [accessed May 7, 2017]).

↑ Section Šestanovac - Ravča opened to traffic ( memento of March 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive )

↑ Section Ravca - Vrgorac opened to traffic ( Croatian ) June 30, 2011. Accessed July 1, 2011.

^ Section Vrgorac - Ploče - Metković opened to traffic ( Croatian ) December 20, 2013. Accessed July 1, 2011.

↑ http://www.lotsberg.net/data/croatia/list.html

Web links

Commons : Autocesta A1 - collection of images, videos and audio files

[1] Slobodna Dalmacija, Ceste - putovi u civilizaciju, September 14, 2003 (Croatian)

[2] VIDEO: Pogledajte kako izgleda nova još neotvorena dionica Dalmatine. dnevnik.hr, May 19, 2011, accessed June 11, 2011 (Croatian).

[3] Dalmatina: pola milijarde za dionicu do Ploča. February 22, 2010, accessed April 27, 2011 (Croatian).

[4] Autocesta stiže do Ploča krajem 2013. Accessed on May 25, 2013 .

[5] Obilježen Početak radova na dionici Dubrovnik-Doli, autoceste A1 Zagreb-Split Dubrovnik. (No longer available online.) May 11, 2009, archived from the original on November 8, 2011 ; Retrieved April 27, 2011 (Croatian). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[6] Ceste Teško do juga Hrvatske. September 11, 2009, accessed April 27, 2011 (Croatian).

[7] Demantij iz HAC-a: 'Dalmatina nije tri puta skuplja od autoceste Zagreb-Sisak. April 9, 2010, archived from the original on November 8, 2011 ; Retrieved April 27, 2011 (Croatian).