The technical acceptance for the first part of the expressway near Gradiška, which will connect the highway Banjaluka – Gradiška with the highway Zagreb – Belgrade, has been completed, which means that everything is ready for the opening of this road.
As explained Independent newspapers in “Hrvatske cesta”, which is the investor of this project, the release of the section into traffic depends on the technical inspection for the border crossing, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance of Croatia.
“According to the above, at the moment we do not have an exact date of release into traffic, but it will be after obtaining the use permits”, they told us.
When is the planned opening?
As a reminder, Nezavisne are unofficially independent from members of BiH. commission for signing a new border agreement with Croatia learned that this section is planned to open on December 10 on a temporary basis, until a new permanent agreement is signed.
When it comes to the border crossing, the Ministry of Finance of Croatia explained to Nezavisna novine that all works and equipment have been completed and an application has been made for its technical inspection, which they expect to be carried out on December 2, 2025.
“Until the adoption of a new agreement between the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on border crossings, the Gornji Varoš (RO) – Gradiška Novi Most (BiH) border crossing will be regulated through the procedure of adopting a decision to open a temporary border crossing, which should be agreed upon by the competent authorities of the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina,” they emphasized.
EU assistance
The EU supported the construction of the Sava bridge with a grant of 6.3 million marks, and also participated in financing and grants for the construction of the Mahovljanska loop and the Banjaluka-Gradiška highway.
The bridge was built jointly by Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, that is, the RS, according to the half-half principle. The expressway is fully financed by Croatia and is part of the corridor that the country is building towards Hungary.
As a reminder, the first 4.5 kilometers of the expressway, which goes from the Sava bridge near Gradiška to Novi Varoš, have been completed, and there drivers will connect to the existing road to Okučani and on to the Zagreb – Belgrade highway.
The second section of the road is under construction and when it is completed, drivers will be able to connect directly to the highway from the expressway, without having to switch to the existing slower road.
Both sections are being built by the Banja Luka company “Integral inženjering”.
From Banjaluka to Zagreb in an hour and a half
If everything goes according to plan, in a month it will be possible to get from Banjaluka to Zagreb in an hour and a half, which will significantly speed up communication in this area. In addition, it can be expected that part of the drivers from Sarajevo will be able to connect to the “9 January” highway near Doboj, and thus get another alternative when traveling to the EU.
The opening of the crossing is also good news for the residents of central Bosnia, because Jajce, Vitez, Bugojno, Travnik and other places on that route in the EU travel via Banja Luka.
How much did the bridge cost?
The Sava bridge, which connects Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, cost 19 million euros, and Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina paid for it in half. Work on this facility began in October 2019 and was completed in June 2022.
The first part of the expressway from the bridge to Novi Varoš, which is expected to be put into traffic these days, is four kilometers long, and the price is about 40 million euros. The works started in February 2022.
The cost of the works on the last section is around 14 million euros, and it is expected that this part of the road, with a total length of slightly less than four kilometers, will be completed in June next year.
