October 21, 2020 - To the relief of citizens in Split and its surroundings, we are one step closer to constructing the highly anticipated Omis fast road. 

The tender for the TTTS-Dugi Rati road, which lasted an incredible 19 months, has finally been completed. There is no need to emphasize just how much the construction of this road would mean for Omis and the whole of central Dalmatia. Its discussion has gone on for decades.

Although no one knows when the fast road from Split to Omis will be built, things have at least began moving in the right direction. There is a bit more certainty about the construction of the Omis bypass, with the construction of which will transfer part of the traffic jams from the highway to the Omis hinterland. The new tunnel and the bridge over the Cetina should relieve at least part of the traffic so that from Omis to Split, it is possible to bypass through Tugar, Srinjine, and Žrnovnica.

After the tender, Croatian Roads (Hrvatske ceste) commented extensively for Dalmacija Danas. They explained the tender's details and the planned route that will have to pass over the slopes of the Perun hill, so it will consist of numerous viaducts and bridges.

“Preparation of changes to the preliminary and main project documentation, implementation of geodetic and geotechnical works and obtaining a location and construction permit for the section TTTS - Dugi Rat with connecting roads was contracted with the Association of Business Entities Geoprojekt dd, Split, Mobilita Evolva doo, Zagreb, Radionica mostova doo, Samobor, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy Split, ZG-Projekt doo, Zagreb. The value of the contract is HRK 10,490,000.00 without VAT, with a deadline for the preparation of project documentation lasting 12 months from the date of signing the contract. The length of the section that is the subject of the contract is 13 km.

The need for the intervention that is the subject of this contract stems from the fact that the existing state road DC8 from Stobrec to Omis is the only road connection between the southern coastal settlements and the city of Omis with Split as the main center of Split-Dalmatia County. Along the entire stretch of the future road, the existing state road is located close to the sea and passes through the settlements of Stobreč, Grljevac, Sv. Martin, Krilo, Sumpetar, Dugi Rat, and Omis.

The existing road is burdened with numerous level crossings that are mostly irregular in geometry and without additional lanes for left and right turns. The floor plan elements are uneven, visibility is insufficient, and there are strong intercity and suburban public bus traffic on the road without bus stops and footpaths. The course of transit and local traffic and their collision, especially in peak loads and during the tourist season, lead to major delays.

All of the above causes low throughput and endangers traffic safety, and prevents urban and tourist development of the settlement.

Considering the construction (residential and commercial buildings) of the narrower belt of the road, it is not possible to realize the necessary reconstruction works, and there is a need to build a road in the new corridor.

The necessity of this project is also visible from the analysis of existing traffic flows in the coverage area of the project based on available data on traffic loads according to the publication "Counting road traffic in the Republic of Croatia in 2015" published by Hrvatske ceste d.o.o. Zagreb.

The road construction, which will be located in the edge zone of the coast, east of the existing DC8, would enable the smooth development of settlements and further development of tourism, and transit traffic would no longer pass through the settlements.

The project was designed as a fast road in the part of the TTTS-Dugi Rat junction with two separate roads and the Dugi Rat-Omiš junction with one road. A building permit was obtained and consumed for the TTTS-Grljevac subsection.

However, due to the high costs of construction of these roads, the investor in 2015 ordered a proposal to optimize the project while maintaining the existing road corridor. The changes relate to the horizontal and vertical geometry to avoid larger cuts in the terrain and the associated costs of securing the slope. Between the two tunnels, the separation of the separated axes was performed, and the denivelation of the same. The optimization shortened the route with four lanes, and now only the first approximately 8100 m is planned as a four-lane road, while the rest of the route is planned as a two-lane road.

Regarding the description of the project itself, the expressway route starts at the junction "TTTS" and continues to the previous section as a four-lane road whose roads are separated by a green belt. The expressway route crosses the roundabout with an overpass “TTTS” approximately 235 m long and is connected to the roundabout via the northern and southern ramps of the junction. Further to the east, there is the bridge "Žrnovnica" (L = approx. 540 m), which in addition to the river Žrnovnica leads over the county road ŽC6142 and the densely built part of Podstrana.

After the completion of the bridge, the left and right pavements are separated and leveled and pass through the tunnels “Perun” (Ls = approx. 200 m, Lj = approx. 220 m) and “Rudine” (Ls = approx. 365 m, Lj = approx. 360 m). After the tunnel, the left and right pavements approach and continue to the viaduct “Duge njive” (L = approx. 90 m). The route continues southeast towards the junction "Stara Podstrana" at km about 5 + 200, connecting with the state road DC8.

The “Stara Podstrana” node is connected to DC8 via axis 10, axis 16, and axis 17. Axis 18 represents the reconstructed DC8 at the part of the intersection. Via axis 14, the “Stara Podstrana” junction connects with the county road ŽC6162, which is located east of the junction, and ŽC6162 itself is proposed via axis 15 and crosses the expressway with the overpass “Drinovac” (at km approx. 6 + 340).

The “Jesenice” junction is located further to the southeast at km 8 + 100 and connects the expressway with the state road DC8 in the south and the local road LC67112 in the north. These two roads are connected with a new road (axis 20), which connects to DC8 near the future "Krilo" port.

There is a three-lane tunnel "Krilo" (L = approx. 170 m) on this connecting road, which passes through the hill near the state road. The three-lane tunnel contains, in addition to two lanes, an additional lane for slow-moving vehicles on the rise.

The expressway to the “Krilo Jesenice” junction is run as a four-lane road, and after fitting the junction ramps of km 8 + 1000 to the end of the route, it is run as a two-lane road. Further to the southeast, at km 10 + 340, the “Jesenice” overpass leads above the proposed local road LC67112 (axis 29). The route then descends in height and, at the same time, approaches the coast and settlements in terms of the floor plan, and reaches the junction “Dugi Rat” at approx. km 13 + 860.

Here we would like to emphasize that for the previous section Mravice - TTTS junction (2.5 km long), the procurement of works for the first three phases (Mravince junction with access roads) has already started. In contrast, for the remaining part, the procurement of works will be launched in the second half of 2021. The total estimated value of the said project is approximately HRK 250,000,000.00 without VAT.

Completion of all these works will significantly improve the traffic picture of Split-Dalmatia County in terms of increasing safety and traffic flow and greatly relieve the road network on the stretch from the entrance to the city of Split, through these settlements through which the state road D8 and ultimately of the town of Omis.

It is planned to apply for EU funds for all projeects," answers Croatian Roads.

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