Sveti Rok tunnel
| Sveti Rok tunnel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 South portal of the Sveti Rok tunnel
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| Official name | Tunel Sveti Rok | |||
| use | Road tunnel | |||
| traffic connection | Gospić - Zadar | |||
| place | Velebit Mountains | |||
| length | 5,679 m / 5,670 m | |||
| Number of tubes | 2 | |||
| construction | ||||
| Client |
West tube: Hidroelektra niskogradnja dd and Konstruktor-inženjering dd East tube: Viadukt dd and Strabag AG |
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| start of building | 1993 | |||
| completion | 2009 | |||
| business | ||||
| operator | Hrvatske autoceste doo | |||
| toll | yes (no additional toll booths in front of the tunnel) | |||
| release |
West tube: June 2003 East tube: May 30, 2009 |
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| location | ||||
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| Coordinates | ||||
| North portal | 44 ° 18 '9 " N , 15 ° 40' 39" E | |||
| South portal | 44 ° 15 ′ 22 " N , 15 ° 38 ′ 59" E | |||
Map with all coordinates: The tunnel "Sveti Rok" (Eng. Tunnel of Saint Roch ) is a double tunnel on the A1 in Croatia . The 5727 m long tunnel leads through the Velebit Mountains and connects the inland of central Croatia , the Lika region , with the coastal region of Dalmatia . After the Mala Kapela Tunnel , it is the second longest tunnel in the country.
Both tunnel tubes were built using the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM or NATM). The security systems in both tubes are among the most modern in Europe.
course
The tunnel is 5,727 m long and runs through the Velebit Mountains between the villages of Sveti Rok (the tunnel was named after this village) in the north and Maslenica in the south. The A1 motorway leads not far from the tunnel over the strait of Maslenica (Croatian: Masleničko ždrilo ) to Zadar . The Maslenica Bridge , known as the strategically important north-south traffic bottleneck, was the scene of fierce fighting during the Croatian War and was destroyed in the process. After the war, the Maslenica motorway bridge was built in record time a few meters from the previous bridge. A second bridge for regional traffic was only built at the old site a few years later, as the motorway is subject to tolls.
The construction of the Sveti Rok tunnel was promoted even in wartime, when the area of Maslenica was fiercely contested (construction started in 1993). This testifies to the strategic priority of this tunnel. The west tunnel was opened to traffic in 2003. The second tube had already been completed by this time. The retrofitting did not begin until 2007 due to cost reasons. On May 30, 2009 the east tube was opened to traffic.
Due to the large climatic differences, strong winds prevail on the south side of Velebit in autumn and spring ( bora ). It can therefore occasionally happen that the A1 motorway from Maslenica, including the Sveti Rok tunnel, is closed to traffic. The strong downwinds do not allow traffic over the Maslenica Bridge and over the Maslenica Strait. The Croatian transport authorities are already testing methods of containing downwinds to ensure uninterrupted traffic.
The Sveti Rok Tunnel crosses the Velebit Mountains
North portal of the west tube (August 2007)
North portal of the west tube (August 2010)
