Highways in Croatia

Highways in Croatia are the main transport network in Croatia.
The Croatian classification includes several classes of highways:

 The main motorways are named A (autocesta) accompanied by one or two digits. By and large they are toll highways with a ticket system.
 Expressways (brza cesta) are limited-access roads with grade-separated intersections and by and large an increased speed limit without tolling. They are similar to motorways, but aren't always dual carriageway, they have no emergency lanes, and their speed limit is always lower. They either have standalone designations or are parts of major state routes (D), see below.
 Roads dedicated for motor vehicles (cesta namijenjena isključivo za promet motornih vozila), which is a category for highways which are limited-access roads, usually similar to multiple-lane motorways/expressways, but which may have slow intersections. It has no specific naming convention, only a dedicated traffic sign, and it mainly includes major state routes (D) or portions thereof, see below. An example is the Jadranska Avenue in Zagreb, designated as Ž1040 county road.

Other than these, the national road classification includes the following categories which may also be referred to as highways in a general sense, with decreasing order of priority (and applicability of the term highway):
 State roads, which are marked by letter D (državna cesta) and a single, double or triple digit number.
 County roads always are marked by letter Ž (županijska cesta) and a four digit number.
 The lowest classification comprises local roads, marked by letter L (lokalna cesta) and a five digit number.

Road operators differ according to the classification system: The designated motorways are operated by four different concessionaires. The state roads are maintained almost exclusively by Hrvatske ceste, while the county and local roads are managed by various county authorities. The road maintenance agencies are governed by various laws issued by the Parliament as well as bylaws issued by the Ministry of Transport.

Motorways

The primary high-speed motorways are called autoceste (; singular: autocesta), and they are defined as roads with at least three lanes in each direction (including hard shoulder) and a speed limit of not less than . They are marked with a special road sign, similar to the road sign depicting a motorway/autoroute/autobahn in other parts of Europe.. The Croatian motorway (autocesta) network is  long.

Motorways in Croatia are defined by the Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure. The same applies to names of the motorway interchanges and rest areas.

History

A major reason for the motorway construction "mania" of the 2000s (decade) is a previous political halt of the major Croatian highway project, today's A1, in the 1970s and 1980s under former Yugoslavia. When Croatia declared independence in 1991, the only true motorways in the country were Zagreb–Karlovac (the northernmost part of today's A1) and Zagreb-Slavonski Brod (the central part of today's A3), the latter being part of the highway "Bratstvo i jedinstvo". The dream to connect the two largest Croatian cities Zagreb and Split with a motorway (autocesta) went back to the times of the Croatian Spring. However, the construction of this project had not happened during Yugoslav period.

In 2005, the Zagreb-Split route was constructed. In addition, the A1 was extended towards Dubrovnik (currently at Ploče), and the A3 was extended so it connects Zagreb to Croatian borders with both Serbia (near Lipovac) and Slovenia (near Bregana). There is also a motorway from Zagreb to Rijeka, the A6, as well as the A4 motorway from Zagreb to the northeast (Hungarian border) as well as the A2 motorway from Zagreb to the northwest (Slovenian border). The A9 between Pula and the Slovenian border is also largely completed.

The construction of additional motorways has noticeably slowed in the 2010s, but it continues. , the A8–Kanfanar-Rijeka, the remaining part of the Istrian Y–is being upgraded from semi-highway status. The other motorways are in various early stages of development, coming up to a total of 11 motorway routes. The A1 is considered unfinished as it is planned to be extended from Ploče to Dubrovnik, but the status is unclear because of the Neum enclave of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

List of motorways

Motorway sections under construction

Planned motorway sections

Expressways

There is a wide variety of types of expressways in Croatia, in terms of number of lanes, accessibility and types of intersections comprised. They range from four lane expressways with grade-separated intersections and limited access - distinguished from the motorways by lack of emergency lanes only - to four or six lane urban expressways with numerous at-grade intersections and traffic lights or two lane limited access roads with grade separated intersections. The expressways include both incomplete motorways, built in stages, and some state roads (with either limited access, more than two traffic lanes, grade-separated intersections or any combination thereof). There are even some instances of county roads which may be regarded expressways such as Jadranska Avenue (Ž1040).

As a rule, the expressways are not tolled, however major tunnels on the expressways are tolled.

List of completed expressways

State roads

State roads are defined by legislation as important routes for road traffic between various parts of the country. Classification of a road as a state road does not describe actual conditions of the road itself.

State roads in Croatia are assigned one, two or three digit numbers which generally comply with the following pattern (although there are some exceptions to the rules):

 1-19 are assigned to trunk roads, normally of considerable length, spanning between borders of various neighboring countries. An obvious exception to this is the D9 state road however it spans from Bosnia and Herzegovina border and the Adriatic Sea, along the southernmost portion of Pan-European Corridor Vc.
 20-99 are assigned to arterial roads on the mainland.
 100s are assigned to island roads
 200s are assigned to border crossing access roads.
 300s are assigned to junction roads, connecting towns or cities (but not other state roads) to motorways or other major roads. Notable exceptions to this are D307 and D310 state roads, although the D307 originally did not connect to the D29, but only to the A2 motorway.
 400s are assigned to mainland port and airport access roads.
 500s are assigned to connecting roads, connecting two different state roads. Notable exceptions to this rule are the D503 which connects to a port and the D516 which connects to a border crossing checkpoint.

At the moment the state roads in Croatia have a combined length of .

D1 - D14

D20 - D77

D100 - D128

Tolls
Tolls are charged on seven stretches of Croatian motorways, along with some other roads.

There are two toll collection systems in Croatia: the open and the closed system. Open system is used on some bridges and tunnels and short stretches of tolled highway. In this system, there is only one toll plaza and drivers immediately pay the toll upon arriving.

See also
 Transport in Croatia
 Hrvatske autoceste
 Autocesta Rijeka - Zagreb
 BINA Istra
 Autocesta Zagreb - Macelj
 Hrvatske ceste
 List of controlled-access highway systems
 Evolution of motorway construction in European nations

Maps

References

External links

 HUKA - Croatian Association of Toll Motorways Concessionaires
 Exit lists of autoceste