Corridor Vc is part of the indicative extension of the TEN-T Core Network to the Western Balkans and connects Bosnia and Herzegovina to Hungary, Croatia and the Adriatic Sea. The longest section of the corridor lies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the country has embarked on a multi-billion motorway construction programme. The motorway network, which is being built in accordance with modern transport standards, will improve road safety, increase access to tourism centres and industrial areas in the country and create more opportunities for trade flows within the region and with the EU.
This investment concerns the construction of a new approximately 8.5 km motorway section Putnikovo Brdo 2 Tunnel - Medakovo in the central part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The route includes the construction of six bridges, one tunnel, three underpasses, two interchanges with side tolling facilities and one Centre for Management and Control of Traffic. Also, the investment involves the regulation of the Usora riverbed in length necessary for the construction of the section, as well as the relocation of the existing main road M4.
This motorway section is important because it connects the Corridor Vc between the two entities: FBiH and Republika Srpska. The investment will substantially shorten the travel distance between the entity border line with Republika Srpska and Karuse in FBiH and generate benefits in terms of time and cost savings, reduced accident rates and reduced pollution in the area. It will also increase accessibility and promote local and regional economic development, by increasing the average annual daily traffic to more than 57% and connecting the existing state road M17 with Corridor Vc.