After last week's chaos with a 15-kilometer queue and 16-hour waits at Karasovići, the head of Konavle warns of the urgent need for long-term traffic solutions for southern Croatia.
Ahead of the new weekend, following last Saturday and Sunday when Konavle was paralyzed by an unprecedented traffic collapse, the head of the Konavle municipality, Božo Lasić, held a meeting of the Civil Protection Headquarters. The goal was to agree on measures in case the scenario of 15-kilometer-long queues and waits of up to 16 hours at the Karasovići border crossing repeats.
Lasić told JUGInfo that it is impossible to predict with certainty the traffic situation for the coming days. "We cannot know what the situation will be like. It's hard to be a prophet and predict what will happen, but we hope the congestion will be less. Last time, no one could have predicted it. The peak of the season started at one point, people set off on their holidays, and what happened, happened," said the head.
The head emphasized that the local government cannot influence all factors leading to the congestion, but it can act within its powers. "We cannot influence that, nor can we predict everything. Today we had a meeting of the Civil Protection Headquarters and agreed on measures we can take," said Lasić.
He specified that everyone will do their part and expressed hope that talks will also be held with the authorities at the border crossing in Montenegro. "The police will do their part, we will do ours, and I hope that talks will also be held with the authorities at the border crossing in Montenegro so that last week's situation does not repeat," he said.
Commenting on long-term solutions, Lasić reiterated his stance that the expressway project should not end at Dubrovnik Airport. "Let's be realistic, the expressway should in no case end at the airport, but should go to the Debeli Brijeg border crossing, that is, Karasovići," he stated. He sees the construction of the Adriatic-Ionian highway as the key solution, which he says should pass above Konavle and thus eliminate the problem in the long term.
Lasić also issued a serious warning regarding the dynamics of infrastructure projects. He believes that completing the highway to Dubrovnik before solving the bottleneck at the border could cause a complete traffic breakdown. "If the highway to Dubrovnik is completed before the problems on this route and at the border crossing are resolved, we will have even bigger jams. That needs to be said clearly," he stressed. He added that Dubrovnik could be completely clogged with vehicles from the direction of Župa dubrovačka and Konavle because all drivers will head toward the new highway.
The head of Konavle also touched on Croatia's specific position as an external Schengen border, which further burdens the roads in the south. "It is obvious that the cheapest route to Montenegro is through Croatia, and that is why ways should be considered to at least partially relieve that traffic," said Lasić. He reminded that drivers from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, or Italy have no border controls all the way to Karasovići, a fact that significantly affects the intensity of traffic.
