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Highways in Croatia are the main transport network in Croatia. The Croatian classification includes several classes of highways:
Contents
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):
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 (Croatian pronunciation: [ˈaʊtotsesta]; 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 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph). They are marked with a special road sign, similar to the road sign depicting a motorway/autoroute/autobahn in other parts of Europe. In Croatia this sign has green background. The national speed limit on an autocesta, effective in case no other speed limits are present, is 130 kilometres per hour (81 mph), with a legal tolerance of 10% on speeds over 100 km/h (as of 2009). The term autocesta is sometimes translated by Croatians simply as highway, which can be confusing because a highway can be any main road, and the terms motorway (British English) and freeway (American English) would be more precise. The Croatian motorway (autocesta) network is 1,313.8 kilometres (816.4 mi) 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. Likewise, the same legislation defines the origin of motorway chainages - at the northern or the western terminus of the motorway - and the motorway markings themselves. The markings are defined as consisting of letter "A" and the motorway number assigned by the legislation, except if a specific motorway is executed in construction stages and considered an expressway, in which case the applicable motorway number is preceded by letter "B" instead.
Generally, the motorways in Croatia are developed and maintained by the state-owned company Hrvatske autoceste (Croatian Motorways Ltd). There are several exceptions to this, namely Zagreb (Lučko) - Bosiljevo 2 section of the A1 motorway, the A6 and the A7 motorways which are managed by Autocesta Rijeka - Zagreb (Rijeka - Zagreb Motorway), the A2 motorway, managed by Autocesta Zagreb - Macelj (Zagreb - Macelj Motorway) and the A8 and the A9 motorways which are managed by BINA Istra.
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 been blocked by the ruling Communist Party.
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. As of 2014, 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.
The initial A1 setup was made under the first HDZ government which contracted Bechtel Corporation; this was later replaced by the effort of the SDP-led government effort led by Radimir Čačić; and then continued by the HDZ government under Ivo Sanader.
As development has accelerated, so did environmental concerns, and concerns relating to the use and abuse of eminent domain by institutions involved in them.
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.
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):
At the moment the state roads in Croatia have a combined length of 6,867.7 kilometres (4,267.4 mi).
Toll
A toll is charged on most Croatian motorways, the only notable exception being the Zagreb bypass. Payment in kuna, all major credit cards and euros are accepted at all toll gates.
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.
In the closed system, every driver passes through two toll plazas. As the driver enters the system, they are given a receipt on the first toll plaza. This receipt states the point of entry. The receipt is presented upon leaving the highway through the second toll plaza. It is needed to calculate the toll. If the driver loses the receipt, they are charged with the maximum possible toll. If the receipt is more than 24 hours old, the driver must present the toll attendant with a reasonable explanation.
Shunpiking is a widely accepted practice for commuters driving what would otherwise be a short stretch of tolled highway. Because of the price of monthly and yearly smart cards, many commuters from outer exurbs use state routes.
Non-cash toll payment
Not counting cash and credit cards, there are several ways to pay toll on Croatian motorways: