The very touristy medieval city of Dubrovnik had been cut off from the rest of Croatia for three decades by the Bosnian exit to the sea.
It is a crucial bridge for Croatia. It connects the south of its coastline, including the very touristy medieval city of Dubrovnik, to the rest of the country, bypassing a small strip of the Bosnian coast created three decades ago after the break-up of Yugoslavia. For the 90,000 inhabitants of this area and for tourists, the opening of the Peljesac bridge, inaugurated on July 26, 2022, means the end of the hours of waiting at the border, especially in the summer season, to enter Bosnia, then to come out ten kilometers further.
” We finally become part of Croatia », rejoices Mario Radibratovic, shellfish farmer on the Peljesac peninsula, now linked to the coast by an elegant cable-stayed bridge, 2.4 km long, one of the largest infrastructure projects since independence in 1991. After the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the borders of its federal republics became those of new states. The “pearl of the Adriatic”, had thus found itself cut off from the rest of Croatia by the Bosnian exit to the sea.
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From several hours to a few minutes
” It’s a huge relief. We felt like second-class citizens so far “, explains this 57-year-old man, returning from a visit by boat to his oyster and mussel farm, in the bay of Mali Ston, organized for around twenty tourists. Because when he and his colleagues from the peninsula set out to transport their shells to the north of the country, they armed themselves with patience. Instead of waiting for hours at the border, it will now be enough to cross in a few minutes the bridge which connects the town of Brijesta, on the peninsula, to Komarna, opposite, and whose opening will be celebrated Tuesday evening in great pump.
For the inhabitants of the picturesque peninsula, also known for its wines, its pebble beaches and also popular with surfers who take advantage of a mistral that forms in the corridor between Peljesac and the island of Korcula, this is the end migraines caused by the mere thought of the Bosnian border or rare ferries. ” It was really exhausting, the wait at the border created a kind of bitterness among the people who live here says Sabina Mikulic, owner of a hotel, a luxury campsite and a vineyard in Orebic, on Peljesac. ” This is truly a historic project for Croatia “, she adds.
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The opening of the bridge has been a long time coming. For years, Croatia had intended to remedy this absurdity by building a bridge to span the arm of the sea facing the Bosnian town of Neum. Construction work had been started for the first time in 2007, to stop shortly after for lack of budget. The project had also angered some Bosnian leaders who feared that the bridge would hinder or even prevent the entry of large tonnage boats into Neum Bay. Zagreb had finally agreed to increase the height of the bridge to 55 meters, although this change increased the cost.
The bridge will be open in the middle of the tourist season, when Croatia, which in 2019 welcomed nearly 20 million tourists, hopes for a new rebound in visits and figures from the pre-pandemic period. ” The importance of the bridge is enormous, not only emotionally due to the connection of the Croatian territory but also for tourism and for the economy in general.said Croatian Transport Minister Oleg Butkovic recently. We are a privileged generation who carried out this long-awaited project. »
For Smilja Matic, a retired piano teacher who regularly spends her holidays in Komarna, now with her beach at the foot of the bridge, the book will have a major positive impact for locals and tourists:This means a new life for the people on this side and for the people opposite, also for those who arrive by plane in Dubrovnik and who will now be able to come here by road without having to cross borders “.
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