Which cloverleaf interchange to take to the seaside? - Belgrade-South Adriatic highway divided planners into advocates of the Surcin and the Ostruznica variants of entrance and exit from Belgrade

Problems with cloverleaf interchanges

There are now two options for entrance of the South Adriatic highway to Belgrade. According to the latest statement of Minister for National Investment Plan Verica Kalanovic, it seems that the "current" advocating for the left bank of the Sava is going to win.

- It is true that the general project for construction of highway section from Belgrade to Obrenovac included plans for the right bank of the Sava. But, due to huge contestation by expert public, the decision was made on creation of a parallel solution that would focus on the left bank. The State Revision Commission has compared both solutions and made the decision that it was better for the route to start in Surcin and then go alongside the left bank of the Sava, cross to the other side of the river near Obrenovac, and then go to Ub - Minister Kalanovic told daily paper Novosti recently.

Miodrag Ferencek, a famous city planner from Belgrade, reminded that, according to the adopted Spatial plan for infrastructure corridor Belgrade-South Adriatic, the new junction should connect to Ostruznica cloverleaf interchange on the right bank of the Sava and then follow the Radnicka Street – Vojvode Misica Boulevard – Kneza Milosa Street route. However, according to aforementioned statement by Minister Kalanovic, it is most likely that the solution focusing on the left bank of the Sava will be accepted.

- People worked on the highway route projects in mid-20th century and those routes were much different than today. It can be freely said that, in theory, those solutions were even better than the ones that have later appeared in the public. At that time, people talked about the Srem tangent that, conditionally speaking, went from Indjija via Obrenovac and further to the south, without touching Belgrade, that is, passing by Belgrade. That route is about 23 km away from the current solutions and the highway route through Belgrade. After that, the connection with South Adriatic was sought on the side of Belgrade for a long time, and one of the old ideas is that that route should go underneath Bezanijska Kosa and further to Obrenovac - says Ferencek.

Since the General Plan has been changed many times, the same has happened to this route, that is, there have been several solutions for the entrance of the future highway to Belgrade.

- There was an idea of the Obrenovac-Ostruznica entrance of the South Adriatic highway to Belgrade, which is, even for today's drivers - non-urbanists, an unacceptable solution because that route cannot, practically, receive even one vehicle more than today. Imagine that you introduce to that route another main entrance of a strategically important highway called South Adriatic and connect it to the bottom of Makis near Ostruznica, and then direct such collected traffic to Ada Ciganlija, via Vojvode Misica Boulevard to Mostar, and then through Kneza Milosa Street !! Even few years ago, planners from the Belgrade Urbanistic Institute were strictly against the proposal that Velimir Ilice, the Minister of Capital Investments at the time, insisted on. Namely, opposite to his solution and the solution suggested by his associates, city planners suggested that the route should cross to the left bank of the Sava near Obrenovac and then go alongside the river to the bypass.

(Velimir Ilic)

However, that route was not accepted by the Republic Directorate for Roads. But, judging by the announcement by Minister Kalanovic, that is going to change since the highway connection will be built near Surcin and not in Ostruznica.

Certain number of experts from Belgrade say that the capital city needs a cloverleaf interchange in Surcin, regardless of whether republic planners will allow its connection to the bypass.

- Our capital city needs a New Belgrade's main route that will lead to Obrenovac and other important locations in Belgrade. It should take over the traffic from Ostruznica cloverleaf interchange and then direct it to Surcin cloverleaf interchange - Ferencek concludes.

Revival of "forgotten" highway

Our interlocutor reminds that the story about Belgrade-South Adriatic route in former SFRY was "put aside" after implementation of the capital and grandiose project of construction of Belgrade-Bar railway. Huge funds were spent on that investment, which pushed the highway to the background. However, neither Serbia nor Montenegro has ever denied South Adriatic in their plans - says Ferencek.

There is no doubt that this junction, which will make it possible for us to reach Montenegrin seaside in a significantly shorter time, will be built one day, but the only question, the same as for the majority of capital projects in our country, is when?

Political-economic-homeland-transportation dilemmas and trilemmas concerning the route in the border zone with Montenegro

Belgrade-South Adriatic highway will also be remembered for the fact that expert public has never been so divided in opinions concerning selection of the route. Minister Mladjan Dinkic confirmed that the route of Belgrade-South Adriatic highway section from Pozega to Boljare would definitely go via Pester. The decades-long dilemma of whether to build six lanes across Duga Poljana or across Zlatibor mountain was ended by the Republic Revision Commission in May 2008. Out of four offered variants, the Commission adopted "east 1" 107 km long, which goes from Pozega, via Arilje, Ivanjica and Pester, to Montenegro.

The biggest rival to the adopted variant was the "west" solution, which starts in Pozega and goes through the valley of the Djetinje river from Gorobiljsko field, past Sevojno, goes up to Cajetina, past Mackat and Ljubis villages, goes dows to Kokin Brod and Nova Varos, and then goes up to Sjenica and further to Boljare. This variant is 156.6 km long.

Length of the whole road

Approximate length of the route from Belgrade to Bar is 420 km: Belgrade-Pozega - 148 km (Obrenovac - Ub - Lajkovac - Ljig - Cacak - Pozega), Pozega-Montenegrin border - 107 km, while the route on the territory of Montenegro, from Boljare via Berane, Andrijevica, Matasevo, Podgorica, Sozina tunnel, to Bar, is 165 km long.