New Croatia-BiH Border Crossing Being Constructed

May the 5th, 2024 – A brand new Croatia-BiH border crossing is currently being constructed in order to relieve the pressures often felt by current ones.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the construction of a new Croatia-BiH border crossing along with the new bridge over the Sava near Gradiška will start this week. It should ensure the opening of the new and fastest road connection from Zagreb to the northern parts of that neighbouring country.

The Croatian Ministry of Finance, which is financing the construction of the new Croatia-BiH border crossing, has confirmed that the start of the work, which was originally planned for April the 10th, has been postponed and is expected this week.

“The necessary construction containers and fences are now being delivered, and by the end of the week, the necessary machines and equipment, as well as construction fittings will come. So, after handing over the construction site to the contractor, the works are proceeding according to the planned dynamics”, reads the statement of the ministry as reported by Nezavisne Novine from Banja Luka.

As far as the Croatian side is concerned, this is the last piece of the puzzle that is missing in order for the new bridge to finally become operational. It is worth 20 million euros and was built with the financial support of the European Union a couple of years ago. It is an integral part of the motorway that leads from Bosanska Gradiška on one side to Banja Luka, and on the other to Doboj, with a planned connection to the highway on the corridor V c to Sarajevo and then down to Ploče.

Currently, works are underway on the construction of the connecting expressway to Okučani, which connects the bridge with the Zagreb-Lipovac highway on the Croatian side, and they should be completed before the border crossing is in operation, which is expected in a period of 12 months.

This new Croatia-BiH border crossing would significantly relieve the traffic, which on the Bosnia and Herzegovina side now runs through Bosanska Gradiška itself, as well as over the narrow bridge over the Sava River.

Due to the fact that most of the freight road traffic between the two countries takes place in this direction, there’s very frequent congestion and traffic jams.