Mediterranean Corridor: Bosnia and Herzegovina - Croatia R2a Road Interconnection (Gradiška)

The Project presented in the GAF concerns the construction of a 2x2 motorway section between Banja Luka and the international border with Croatia at Gradiska, including the cross-border bridge.
The motorway (27 km) was constructed over the period 2008-2011. It has been co-financed by the EIB loan.

The Action co-financed by the grant includes a section of the motorway linking to the interstate bridge on the BiH side and the works for the bridge and the supervision of works to be implemented in 2019-2022. The works for the bridge will include the following components:

• the access road to the bridge (expressway typical cross-section) on the Croatian side in total length of 50m (financed 100% by the Croatian side),
• interstate bridge over the Sava river (expressway typical cross-section) in total length of 462,25m (financed by RH and BiH, 50% each),
• the access road to the bridge (motorway typical cross-section) on the BiH side (financed 100 % by BiH).

The Action is a part of the extension of the Mediterranean Corridor into the Western Balkans along Route 2a (R2a). This route spans 239 km, from Okucani in Croatia to Banja Luka and Lašva in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It connects Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Republic of Srpska) to the main transport routes in Croatia leading to the Adriatic ports.
The Mediterranean Corridor (R2a) integrates the Western Balkans into the transport flows that link the Iberian Peninsula to the Hungarian – Ukrainian border. Consequently, it accounts for most of the freight and passenger traffic in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Mediterranean Corridor (R2a) currently runs through the urban area of Gradiška for approximately 2km, with the existing 260m two-way bridge over the Sava leading to a small car park in the centre of the town.
On the Croatian side, the bridge carries traffic to a larger parking and clearance area located to the east of the much smaller town of Stara Gradiška. The new bridge will be built about 3 km to the west of the existing bridge and outside the urban area of Gradiška. It has been designed to accommodate a significant increase in overall traffic, projected to rise from 12,000 vehicles per day today to about 28,450 in 2024.
The new border crossing facilities will ease social and environmental pressures on Gradiška, by diverting traffic outside the city centre. It will also trigger reductions in journey times and vehicle operating costs.
Building the new bridge is expected to reduce border crossing times from 5 to 2 minutes for cars and from 30 to 12 minutes for trucks. It will adequately accommodate the traffic generated by the commissioning of the new motorway on this route in November 2011.

The results expected from the project are as follows:

• Completion of the Banja Luka – Gradiška motorway section, including the cross-border areas.
• Modern and efficient border crossing facilities on the Banja Luka – Gradiška section of the Mediterranean Corridor (R2a).
• Cross-border bridge in Gradiška.

The expected benefits are as follows:

• Safe and efficient road transport for more than 2,400 vehicles/day.
• Passenger and freight carrying capacity significantly improved, along with reduced travel time.
• Faster border crossing for cars and trucks between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.
• Lower operational and maintenance costs for motorway users and operators.
• The investment is designed to facilitate trade, regional integration and sustainable growth and thus have a positive impact on the broader economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina.