Citizens argue that if other bridges and tunnels are free, Krk bridge and Učka tunnel should be too,
As Morski writes on the 21st of July, 2019, 38 years ago on July the 19th, 1980, Krk Bridge (formerly Tito’s Bridge) was officially opened at 11:30 in the morning. The length of the bridge with its access roads stands at 1,430 metres, with particular emphasis placed on its distinctive concrete arch, standing at 390 metres in length, making it the largest bridge of its kind in the world at the time of its initial construction.
On the Lokalpatrioti Rijeka (Rijeka Local Patriots) Facebook page, a post states that today, the inhabitants of that particular region of the country are struggling with their attempts to make the usage of Krk Bridge free because it has since long been paid off.
“This week, a new bridge to Trogir (Čiovo), has been opened which is free of charge. They also say that there’ll be no charge for the use of Pelješac Bridge, its only ours [our bridge] that’s charged in the whole of Croatia. Minister Oleg Butković (Rijeka) HDZ refuses to abolish the toll for the use of Krk Bridge. Enough!!!” writes on the Lokalpatrioti Rijeka Facebook page.
The initiative claims that they merely want to enjoy the same rights as other users of other bridges and tunnels across Croatia, giving the example of the Sveti Ilija tunnel which goes through Biokovo, which initially wasn’t supposed to be free to use, but after everyone raised their voices about it, there was no charge for its use after all.
“It’s precisely because of the removal of a charge for the use of that tunnel that we in Kvarner are looking for the same rights for Krk Bridge and for the Učka tunnel,” the post explains.
There is also a bizarre example written by one Rijeka resident: “If you’re going from Pazin to Krk airport to pick up your friend and then go back to Pazin, you pay to use that tunnel twice, the bridge, the road toll to go to Pazin. All of that is an unnecessary expense and works out as more expensive than an airline ticket.”
Most of the criticism was taken by Minister Oleg Butković, who faced the heat mainly because he’s from Rijeka himself and doesn’t seem to care or see this issue as a pressing one for people from the wider Rijeka and Kvarner area.
