May 31, 2023 - After years of isolation before the Peljesac Bridge, some Mayor Frankovic provides an update on the Dubrovnik motorway.

Last year, the opening of the Peljesac Bridge, this year more good news for connectivity to and from Dubrovnik. 

"The government has decided: We are going to complete the highway network, the branch to Dubrovnik will be built," writes the mayor of Dubrovnik, Mato Franković, on his FB profile.

"After a decade of lack of traffic connectivity, thanks to Andrej Plenković and his Government, the south of Croatia is experiencing a traffic renaissance. With the construction of the Pelješki Bridge and the expressway across Pelješac, a huge step forward was made in traffic connectivity, and now, with the Government's decision, we are going even further. Finally, after so many years of waiting, the highway construction project to Dubrovnik begins. This is great news for all of us in the south of Croatia, the highway will bring us greater prosperity, safety in traffic, faster connections with the whole of Croatia, which will enable the further development of various economic branches with the aim of reducing the influence of the economic monoculture of tourism. This news came only a day before the day of statehood, and it could not have been a better congratulation from the Government of the Republic of Croatia than this one." - wrote Franković.

Agreements have been reached with 10 Croatian banks for refinancing and new loans, which will make 1.35 billion euro available to connect Metković to Dubrovnik, as well as Križišće to Žuta Lokva.

May the 13th, 2023 - HAC has announced that it is set to update Lucko traffic regulations and that Croatia's road users should prepare themselves for quite the change in this regard as everything undergoes optimisation.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatian Motorways (HAC) has announced new Lucko traffic regulations in order to reduce issues with summer congestion, meaning that the number of approach lanes will increase from three to four in the direction of the sea, and ENC usage will be enabled at all entrance lanes.

In the press release issued by Croatian Motorways on the topic, it is stated that owing to Croatian accession to the Schengen area and the border control with neighbouring Slovenia having been abolished, new Lucko traffic regulations need to be introduced as that border crossing, which is no longer there, was the thing which used to slow down the flow of road traffic.

"With the abolition of border controls, an additional increase in the intensity of traffic entering the A1 highway at Lucko is expected. As such, HAC has started to improve the throughput capacity of the Lucko intersection within the framework of the existing dimensions of the motorway. Through these new solutions, the plan is to facilitate the flow of traffic and reduce congestion on the section of the A1 Zagreb - Split - Ploce motorway, especially in the approach to Lucko heading in the direction of the coast.''

In the area of the Lucko intersection, traffic management will be ensured continuously with two traffic lanes from the direction of Slovenia towards the south, instead of the current single traffic lane. This should contribute to the more even distribution of traffic flows in the direction of the coast and, according to the Croatian Motorways, it will reduce the wait to join the traffic lane in the approach to the Lucko zone. In addition to that, the number of lanes in the approach area to the toll booths/gates has been increased from three to four lanes.

The dynamic management of the toll gates will eliminate the situation of intertwining traffic during peak hours, for example when an ENC user is in the far left lane, they will no longer have to look for an ENC lane, but will be able to use any lane to make such a passage. As a result, passing with an ENC device and picking up a card for manual payment will be possible at all entrance toll lanes, which will be opened depending on traffic demand to the south, as well as to the north.

Shorter queues are expected as a result of the upcoming Lucko traffic regulations

Although these measures won't manage to solve all of the problems due to the limited capacity of the Lucko - Bosiljevo section itself, it is expected that the positive effects will be visible through the reduction of the length of the queue along the Zagreb ring road.

It is also expected that the queues of vehicles waiting to pay, which extend to the ring road, will form later on and as such disperse earlier (meaning there will hopefully be a shorter waiting time in the queue). This, as HAC stated, will contribute to increasing traffic safety on the ring road and in the area of the Lucko intersection, and savings in time which would otherwise be lost in traffic jams are also expected.

The aim of the new measures is to optimise the bandwidth of all directions arriving at the Lucko toll station. The new solution is also intended to ensure the safety of all road users, and to reduce time losses for users due to congestion and traffic jams on this very important section of the motorway.

"With adherence to the speed limit and the caution and cooperation of all road users, it's possible to achieve a safe and efficient traffic flow on the section of the motorway from Zagreb to the Bosiljevo intersection, which will make it much easier for people to travel to their desired tourist destinations," the statement from HAC concluded.

For more, check out our news section.

August the 20th, 2022 - There have been 1700 brand new cameras placed along Croatian roads, and with numerous traffic accidents occurring every year, with that number heightened during the main summer tourist season, it's worth knowing about the systems put in place along Croatian roads.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, each and every tourist season, especially during its very peak, traffic accidents occur up and down the country on Croatian roads. This isn't remotely surprising given the intensity of the traffic at that time of year, it also shouldn't come as much of a shock because of the level of fatigue and the loss of concentration of drivers who sometimes sit behind the wheel without a break for much longer than they would otherwise. Accidents often occur because drivers put everything else aside, such as rest, in order to reach their destination as soon as possible. In such unfortunate cases, instead of enjoying the summer break, they often experience a tragedy on the road.

That's why it's good to know a little more about highway traffic camera systems that help respond to crisis situations along Croatian roads. Croatian Motorways (HAC) have now initiated the implementation of a new traffic information system on their roads, as part of which more than 1,700 digital cameras will be installed for a brand new video surveillance and video detection system, writes HAK Revija.hr.

"As part of this wider project, analog cameras will be replaced by new digital and more technologically advanced ones. The new cameras will be able to detect potentially dangerous situations quickly and more safely, such as instances of people driving in the opposite direction, a car which had stopped, pedestrians on the road, and owing to that, there will be a faster reaction involved informing other road users about the event, the location, and the current road conditions.

Automatic incident detection (AID) alert the employees at the Traffic Monitoring and Safety Centres (CNUP), located along the entire highway network, straight away. AID triggers an audible alarm in the event of an incident, automatically shows the location of the incident to the operator and records everything. In addition to the incidents already mentioned, AID warns of traffic congestion, slow vehicles and any loss of visibility. An alarm sounds in the tunnel when a loss of camera visibility due to the appearance of smoke due to a fire is detected," Croatian Motorways explained.

As stated by Croatian Motoeways, the new Crocodile 2 Croatia (Cro 2 Cro) traffic control and management system is part of the wider Crocodile project, which was launched at the European Union level. The introduction of this system will ensure the coordinated management and the proper control of traffic and see Croatia become part of the integrated ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) on European Union road routes.

What's the procedure from the moment the cameras record a crisis situation to its resolution?

"In the case of an extraordinary event, the operators at CNUP initiate the notification procedure in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure and call the emergency services (112, and if necessary, the police, emergency medical assistance, the fire department, the patrol service, the water authority inspectors, and hunting authorities). Upon the alarm being sounded because of an extraordinary event, and in accordance with its classification, an algorithm and scenario are automatically launched, which sets adequate traffic signals on light-changing signs in order to inform other road users who might encounter the event in a timely manner about it, telling them to adjust the speed of their vehicle. The public is then also informed about the state and conditions on the road through HAK and HAC's websites,'' they stated from Croatian Motorways.

Then, upon arrival at the scene of the event, the same is ensured by the patrol service with adequate temporary regulation of traffic, until the extraordinary event is declared over.

"In the case of the need to remove the vehicle, a contractual contractor will be called to come to the scene in question and take the vehicle away. In the event of the need to close a section of the nighway, a corresponding protocol will be initiated and mutual communication is carried out between the managers of public Croatian roads in order to activate the appropriate traffic boards to guide detour traffic as soon as possible and allow the same traffic to flow," they noted.

When asked how much time passes on average from the event being recorded by the cameras to the reaction of the appropriate emergency services and their arrival at the scene, they stated from HAC that upon receiving the sounded alarm, the emergency and operational services are called without delay and they arrive at the scene very quickly.

For more on driving in Croatia, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

August the 13th, 2022 - The height of the scorching summer tourist season is now well and truly upon us, and with more and more foreign visitors entering the country either by air and then hiring cars, or by road through Croatia's many land borders, Croatian Motorways (HAC) has issued some advice to all those using the country's roads to head to their various destinations, usually on the coast.

Yet another busy summer weekend is upon us, and with an absolutely tragic accident involving a bus recently, which took the lives of several individuals, Croatian Motorways has made sure to make Croatia's road users aware of some of the realities of driving here at this wildly busy time of the year.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, during the busy summer season here in Croatia, hundreds of thousands of vehicles enter the country, which increases the risk of accidents, some of which are fatal. The head of the Centre for the Supervision and Management of Motorway Traffic, Davor Bicanic, appealed to drivers to enable the creation of a so-called emergency corridor, as reported by HRT.

''All important information from Croatian motorways and roads, especially from critical sections, such as tunnels, arrives in real time to the control room of Croatian Motorways. We're currently implementing a traffic information system, as part of which we're replacing old analog cameras with new, more technologically advanced digital cameras, around 1,700 cameras are working at this moment in time,'' Bicanic pointed out.

"This new system has the possibility of providing automatic video detection of certain incident situations, such as people driving in the opposite direction, a pedestrian being on the motorway, a vehicle which has stopped on the road, and so on. Automatic video detection enables our operators working within the traffic control and management centres to react faster and provide the latest information to other road users who find themselves on the Croatian motorways and roads which have been affected,'' he added.

When it comes to the seemingly eternal problem of terrible accidents and some absurd moves being made by arrogantly over-confident drivers, Bicanic said that it would be nice if an emergency corridor became a routine for drivers using Croatian motorways.

"An emergency corridor enables the passage of emergency medical aid vehicles, firefighters and the police, to reach the scenes of traffic accidents as soon as possible and to provide assistance to the victims involved. The emergency corridor is formed so that vehicles in the left traffic lane move as far to the left as possible, and vehicles in the right traffic lane move as far to the right as possible. For the drivers, it's a small shift, but that shift means a corridor towards remaining alive for a critically injured person,'' stressed Bicanic.

For more on Croatian motorways and driving in Croatia, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

June the 26th, 2022 - Transport Minister Oleg Butkovic has announced that there are two million more cars on Croatia's roads than there were back in the pre-pandemic, record year of 2019.

Two years spent being dominated by the global coronavirus pandemic saw Croatia's roads not entirely emptied of foreign cars but the number of them was greatly slashed. It seems that 2022's summer tourist season is set to be even better than 2019's record season, with the pandemic now firmly in the rear view mirror of the vast majority and people up, about and travelling once again.

The cost of fuel may well have shot up to realms unknown as a result of ongoing inflation primarily caused by the war in Ukraine following Russian invasion back in February this year, but that doesn't appear to be making that much of a dint in the pockets of foreigners entering the country by car and using the excellently constructed Croatian motorways to travel down to various Adriatic destinations. 

Cars with caravans, jet skis, boats and all sorts of other vehicles attached to them from countries all over Europe can be seen hitting the road, providing a very refreshing sight to the eyes of all tourism workers across the country following two very anxiety inducing, stagnant years in which an invisible enemy made all of the decisions. 

As Morski writes, Transport Minister Oleg Butkovic reported on Friday that by last Sunday, two million more vehicles had passed through and driven along Croatian motorways than the record tourist year of 2019.

Transport Minister Oleg Butkovic told reporters in Baska on the island of Krk that compared to the same period back in 2019, this year, as much as eight percent more revenue was generated on the country's motorways, estimating that this season could be better than that of the amazing summer of 2019.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

May the 4th, 2022 - Croatian Motorways (HAC/Hrvatske autoceste) is set to spend a massive amount on a ''makeover'' of sorts. Here's precisely how a total of 263 million kuna will be spent.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, Croatian Motorways will soon get to work on the demolition of Motel Rastovica on the A3 Bregana-Zagreb-Lipovac motorway. A job tender worth around three million kuna is now underway, but, as was confirmed by Croatian Motorways, no new content will be built on the site after the removal of that facility.

What are set to be removed are old and neglected motel and bungalow facilities that have been out of function for a long time now, are in quite a dilapidated condition and, according to Croatian Motorways, pose a danger to the environment and the safety of resort users.

Their removal of Motel Rastovica and its accompanying facilities is part of a wider project of revitalisation and arrangement of the network of rest/stop areas and accompanying service facilities along the entire A3 route, and the construction of a new facility at a specific location is not currently planned, because, according to Croatian Motorways, there is already a very modern fuel station with a shop and a restaurant at that location, which provides a high level of service quality for all road passengers.

The A3 motorway is mostly an old motorway route where the rest area network requires general reconstruction, and in addition to restoring the rest area, new rest plateaus are being built in that direction, existing rest areas are being abolished and dilapidated and devastated ancillary service facilities are being removed. HAC, based on the projection of the optimal layout of rest areas with regard to their type and mutual distance.

The revitalisation project includes about 30 rest areas, and the investment, which Croatian Motorways is financing from its own sources and intends to complete by June 2026, is worth a total of 263 million kuna.

This year, the project will see the completion of the construction of the Crnec rest area on the Ivanja Reka-Jezevo section, the general reconstruction of the Jezevo-south rest area and the Nova Gradiska-Dragalic-north rest area, as well as the reconstruction of the motorway and removal of the Jezevo-north rest area connection.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

September the 19th, 2021 - Motel Plitvice has been a favourite among locals and tourists using Croatia's motorways for very many years now, but now its fate lies in Croatian Motorways' (HAC) hands.

As Novac/Vedran Marjanovic writes, the fate of Motel Plitvice, a favourite place to stop for many road users along the Zagreb - Bregana highway, is in the hands of Croatian Motorways after the Zagreb Commercial Court recently determined the debt of the motel, which requested pre-bankruptcy back in the spring.

Out of the total court-determined debt of Motel Plitvice of 39.6 million kuna, HAC's claim accounts for 33.4 million kuna of it, meaning that the motel cannot proceed from pre-bankruptcy without the consent of HAC, if the creditors vote that way.

The management of Motel Plitvice initially requested the opening of pre-bankruptcy procedings due to the consequences of the coronavirus crisis on business and its goal is to arrange the repayment of the incurred debt of 17 million kuna so that the motel can operate.

In the proposal of the pre-bankruptcy plan, the management of Motel Plitvice also stated a debt to HAC of 11.9 million kuna, but the court determined that it was in actual fact three times higher than that. This is part of a long-standing dispute between Motel Plitvice and HAC over the use of land on which the motel, with some other facilities, operates on both sides of the busy motorway.

The two parties never entered into a land use agreement, although, as established in a court case initiated by HAC back in 2001, they were supposed to do so.

As there was no contract to fall back on, Motel Plitvice disputed HAC's request that it remain indebted for the use of the land only from 2001 to 2009, in the amount of 12 million kuna. Over time, the motel's debt to HAC, according to the calculation of state highways, increased to a massive 78.1 million kuna. Ultimately, HAC won the dispute in the Commercial and High Commercial Courts, and Motel Plitvice failed even with an appeal in the Supreme Court.

HAC recently revealed that converting the receivables they have from Motel Plitvice into ownership of the motel is not an option they have on the table because, as they point out, the Roads Act doesn't allow them to proceed with such a model.

''The position of HAC on the pre-bankruptcy of Motel Plitvice depends on the final settlement proposal and the measures that will eventually be proposed by the revised restructuring plan,'' they stated quite simply from HAC.

For more, follow our business section.

August the 14th, 2021 - Croatian road toll fees are experiencing excellent numbers so far this summer, with this past weekend being far beyond anyone's expectations from just a few months ago. Numbers like those we saw and took entirely for granted back in pre-pandemic record year of 2019 which seemed unattainable this time last year are becoming more and more of a reality.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, Croatian Motorways is feeling the results of a truly excellent Croatian good tourist season so far in their business, which also recorded excellent results last weekend. From the 20th to the 22nd of August, 856.5 thousand vehicles passed at their toll booths and a massive 47.1 million kuna without VAT was collected in Croatian road toll fees.

When compared to the same weekend last year, when the turnover of 591.6 thousand vehicles and revenue of 31.5 million kuna in Croatian road toll fees was recorded, this figure marks a promising increase of 45 and 50 percent, respectively, and according to official HAC data, compared to the same weekend in In the pre-pandemic year of 2019, in which record results were also achieved, the number of vehicles this weekend was higher, but revenues were still slightly lower.

That weekend, two years ago, HAC recorded a turnover of 837.6 thousand cars and other vehicles, which means that last weekend the traffic was higher by 2 percent, and the state highways had a traffic of almost 19 thousand more vehicles.

However, Croatian road toll fees collected back then stood at about one percent higher, and on the same weekend in August in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, revenues amounted to 47.7 million kuna without VAT included.

The fact that with a larger number of vehicles there was no equal increase in revenue from freight, and it is slightly weaker, is partly a result of the fact that before the tourist season, as a government measure to attract tourists to come to Croatia, the so-called winter tariff, which is somewhat cheaper, remained in place for longer.

For more, follow our travel section.

August the 10th, 2021 - The brand new Croatian Motorways app will more than likely become a drivers' best friend when travelling up and down the country. A tender is soon set to be announced.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, warnings when exceeding the speed limit, traffic announcements and displays of detours are just some of the possibilities that will be provided to all drivers by the new Croatian Motorways app, for which a public tender will soon be announced, reports Vecernji list.

This new Croatian Motorways app will provide drivers with access to information on the current state of traffic and meteorological conditions on sections under the jurisdiction of all motorway concessionaires in the Republic of Croatia, meaning along Croatian Motorways (HAC) roads, and it also includes the Istrian Y and the Zagreb-Macelj motorway.

As stated in the terms of reference which are part of the tender documentation, the Croatian Motorways app interface should be easy to use and provide the app's user with information on the state of traffic on their planned motorway route, which includes notifications of extraordinary events, works on the road and connected state roads, the situation at border crossings, there's also access to traffic cameras, as well as a report on travel times.

Users of the Croatian Motorways app, which will be free to download, will also receive notifications about the current speed limit on the section they're using, current weather conditions, rest areas and their available facilities, where there are toll fees to be paid, there will be contacts for police, firefighters and ambulances. Users will also be able to use the app to report incidents themselves.

The Croatian Motorways app will help drivers out during their journey by showing them detours in case a particular motorway section is closed to all or certain groups of vehicles due to an extraordinary or previously announced event, and they will be able to see the current location of their vehicle on the map in the app.

The app will also gradually introduce the receipt of information on the traffic situation from the surrounding countries - Slovenia, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary - and in case of emergencies in these countries, it will activate traffic management plans (TMP - Traffic Management Plans), in order for the users of the application who plan to travel to those countries to have real-time information about the events on the motorways of those countries.

In addition to the Croatian Motorways app, this project will upgrade HAC's public website with a new interactive map, which includes map view, map layer selection, a text overview of active emergency notifications and works, a text view of the current weather conditions and passability, routing, traffic forecasting, filtering, and data sorting.

According to the app's documentation, in accordance with HAC's interest in improving the information they provide as a public company that manages most of the Croatian motorway network, upgrading and developing the proposed app will represent a significant step forward in improving public information.

For more, follow our lifestyle section.

June the 23rd, 2021 - The Banovina motorway, often referred to as the Banovina ''rescue'' motorway has seen progress delayed once again following appeals launched.

As Novac/Vedran Marjanovic writes, Croatian Motorways has just announced the receipt of an appeal against the public procurement tender for the selection of a contractor for the construction of a 300 million kuna section of the Zagreb-Sisak motorway, known as the Banovina motorway.

''The appeal filed against the change of procurement documentation prevents the continuation of public procurement,'' HAC said on the occasion of a new appeal being launched against the tender for the completion of the Zagreb-Sisak highway, more specifically for the section of the A11 highway from Lekenik to Sisak.

It should be noted that after HAC invited interested companies to submit their bids for the construction of the Lekenik-Sisak section on March the 8th this year, the Bulgarian company Trace Group Hold complained to the State Commission for the Control of Public Procurement Procedures (DKOM) on May the 27th.

However, DKOM rejected the appeal of the aforementioned Bulgarian company because, according to the explanation of the Commission, no proof of payment of the appeal fee was provided. This, however, only temporarily blocked the public tender for A11 because a new appeal was lodged.

According to HAC's original plan for the completion of the so-called Banovina motorway, the opening of the bids received for the tender was scheduled for May the 27th, which was postponed until further notice by Trace Group Hold's appeal. Therefore, the announcement of the Croatian Government that the construction of the Lekenik-Sisak section could start in autumn this year must be dropped.

According to the tender documentation, the company that will be entrusted with the construction of the Banovina motorway or ''rescue'' motorway is expected to complete the work within two years from the start of construction.

The state began building the 47.5-kilometre Zagreb-Sisak highway back in 2006 and cut it off in May 2009, completing the section from Mraclin to Busevac. Construction continued a few years later, and in 2015 the 11.2-kilometre-long Buševec-Lekenik section was completed, with almost all activities being halted for many years. The construction of the A11 was intensified after the earthquake that hit Sisak and Banovina back in December last year and was declared the ''rescue highway'' for the area.

For more, follow our business section.