The recent idea of the Orebić bypass route just north of the town itself to the future ferry docks at Perna is justifiably opposed by both experts and the local community.
As we witness another announcement of the beginning of Pelješac Bridge construction, it is high time to talk about how to connect Pelješac settlements due west of it. The current roads through the centre of Orebić are today inadequate, in fact dangerous in terms of safety, which is why potential solutions should be discussed. One of them is a “hole” through St Ilija hill and a road on the northern side of the peninsula, Korcula.net wrote on December 9, 2017.
The recent idea of the Orebić bypass route just north of the town itself to the future ferry docks at Perna is justifiably opposed by both experts and the local community. The road would traverse tough terrain with many potential landslides, valuable agricultural land, endanger sources of water and heritage, devastate the scenery, disrupt peace and the quality of life in local villages, cut mountain paths and connections between Orebić and the St Ilija hill, as well as its natural resources and tourism potential. For these reasons the bypass has not been built.
The new route of the Orebić bypass could pass on the northern side of St Ilija: from the highest points of the road above Camp Perna 250 metres due north-east to the tunnel of 2.8 kilometres in length through St Ilija and toward Duba Pelješka, then on the road and through two smaller tunnels eastward via the natural corridor north to Vlaštica hill, mostly on the track of the existing gravel road to the D415 road to Trpanj. The total length of the bypass, counting from the Perna docks to the Trpanj road would be around 14 kilometres.
This route would also be a more acceptable solution for the traffic connection of Korčula Island with the rest of the country. The western part of Pelješac Peninsula and Korčula and Lastovo islands have over 20 thousand permanent inhabitants. The number rises many times in the tourism season. The Pelješac Channel was traversed in 2015 by 233 thousand vehicles and 592 thousand passengers. The increase at the annual level is between 10 and 15 percent.
Most will ask where will the money come from? As the Prime Minister recently publicly appealed to activate all potential in making use of European funds, this initiative responds to that.
Translated from Korcula.net.
