October the 11th, 2026 – Croatian motorways cost a lot to use, but why is this the case when there are constant road works and extensive disruptions?
Drivers in Croatia pay the full price of tolls even on motorway sections where, due to road works, traffic is slowed, doesn’t flow, is full of bottlenecks, closed traffic lanes and speed restrictions. It’s very clear that such conditions can prolong the journey, but the price of the toll remains the same. Index’s text problematised the introduction of an expensive and complex toll collection system instead of simpler vignettes, such as those used by neighbouring Slovenia. It also warned about the very high costs of using Croatian motorways, opening the question precisely opened of why drivers need to pay the full fees even when, due to works, they cannot use the motorway under normal conditions.
Vedran Salvia reports that anyone who regularly uses Croatian motorways knows very well how frequent the works are, because of which queues form that prolong the journey itself. On individual sections, these burdensome works last for many months. For example, on the A3 motorway between Nova Gradiška and Lužani, works on doing up the carriageway have been ongoing since September, with completion scheduled for mid-November. On the A1 motorway between Gornja Ploča and Sveti Rok, the rehabilitation of two bridges began at the beginning of October and is due to last until the beginning of December. In both cases traffic on part of the motorway is two-way on one carriageway. Those are only some of the works currently being carried out on Croatian motorways.
hac remains silent
According to the applicable Toll Collection Act, the possibility of granting discounts exists, but the regulations do not provide for a reduction in price due to works or difficult driving conditions. Neither do HAC’s General Terms of Use of the motorway and toll collection provide for a special refund of money in cases when, due to works, traffic takes place on a narrowed carriageway or with speed restrictions. HAC was asked for additional clarification on whether there is a legal possibility of reducing the toll during works and under what conditions such a discount could be introduced.
In addition to asking HAC for a legal clarification of that possibility, they were also asked whether they have ever considered introducing temporary discounts. We also requested data on the scope of works and the total kilometrage of motorways affected by bottlenecks and the closing of traffic lanes during 2025 and 2026. By the time the text was closed we had not received an answer.
croatia charges enormous tolls
The question of charging the full toll during works gains particular importance when the high prices of using Croatian motorways are taken into account. Drivers for non-small amounts expect corresponding quality of service, which also opens the broader question of the relationship between the price and what they receive in return. The toll Zagreb – Split for a passenger car amounts to 26.40 euros in one direction, or 52.80 euros for a return trip. Even with the ENC discount of 21.74 percent, three return trips cost around 124 euros. As a counter-argument, it could be said that the toll is paid according to the kilometres travelled, and not according to the time spent on the motorway, so road works should not affect the price. But that does not mean that it is all the same under what conditions one drives. One takes the motorway precisely in order to travel faster and with fewer delays. In Croatia, however, works and bottlenecks are very frequent, so it isn’t remotely unreasonable that drivers expect normal driving conditions when paying such sums.
slovenia smartly extends the validity of vignettes during such works
That it is perfectly possible to compensate drivers for difficult driving conditions is also shown by the example of neighbouring Slovenia. The Slovenian parliament in November last year adopted a law by which, due to numerous works and reduced motorway throughput, it extended the validity of annual electronic vignettes by four months, without additional costs. The measure applied to all annual vignettes that were valid on the 1st of December 2025, and the extension was carried out automatically. The Slovenian Ministry of Infrastructure explained that the aim of the measure was a fairer relationship towards drivers who, due to works, suffered worse travel conditions on the roads.
additional road users could be attracted by lower fees
However, does that mean that they should not pay the full price of the toll? Marko Ševrović, associate professor and vice-dean of the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences in Zagreb, told Index that he understands drivers’ dissatisfaction, but warns that the problem must also be viewed from the perspective of traffic planning. “I understand that users look from their perspective and ask themselves why they pay the full price when the driving conditions are worse. But imagine that on a section we already have a jam due to reduced capacity and then we also lower the price. What will we achieve by that?
I believe that a reduction of the toll during works would be unusual, but also counterproductive. A lower price could attract additional traffic precisely to the sections on which traffic capacities are already reduced due to works. The goal in such situations should be to reduce traffic on those sections, and not to further encourage it. If there is an alternative road, it would make more sense to reduce the price of its use and thus encourage drivers to avoid the section on which works are being carried out,” our interlocutor believes.
road works go on for much too long in croatia
He emphasises that the problem is that the works last too long in Croatia, and become a constant source of irritation to all road users as a result.
“That’s partly a consequence of the situation in the construction sector. Contractors do not have enough workers, the costs of labour and materials have risen significantly, so savings are made on the number of employees and work shifts. The works could be completed significantly faster, but that is the current situation. We have a public procurement system that in practice favours the lowest price. In doing so, it is not calculated how much society loses due to long-lasting works. Because of such an approach deadlines are often exceeded and the works drag on. That is not only a problem of HAC, but also of state roads and city thoroughfares, which we also see in Zagreb,” he says.
neighbouring italy also does things differently
That it’s possible to regulate toll collection during works differently is also shown by the example of neighbouring Italy, which, similarly to Croatia, charges tolls according to the distance travelled. There drivers on the network of the largest Italian concessionaire Autostrade per l’Italia and related companies can obtain a partial or full refund of money if works significantly impede or prolong their journey. Such a system has existed for several years, and from June this year new rules are applied that have expanded drivers’ rights, as also reported by the Italian news agency ANSA.
An interesting example also comes from Spain, where courts sided with drivers over the charging of the full toll during works on a motorway in Galicia. The Supreme Court in 2025 ruled that charging the full amount during major delays was an unfair practice, thereby opening the way for a refund of money to the affected drivers.
In a separate procedure, about which the local newspaper La Voz de Galicia wrote, the court recognised a group of 21 plaintiffs, mostly craftsmen and local carriers, the right to a refund of half of the paid toll amount due to significantly worse driving conditions. The same question that was raised was also opened back in 2023 in the French Senate, where it was problematised why drivers pay the full toll when works prolong the journey and reduce the quality of service. The French Government replied that the prices are determined by concession contracts and that their reduction would require legislative changes or changes to the contracts, with possible financial compensation to the concessionaires. It also warned that such costs could be compensated by a later increase in tolls.
