7-kilometer section of a new motorway toward the Croatian border has been opened

We finished the construction of the 7-kilometer-long section of motorway in Pomurje that runs from Maribor to the border crossing Gruškovje. The section was built by a consortium of local construction companies and led by Pomgrad. Co-funded by European funds, this section is part of a comprehensive European-wide traffic network intended to improve the lives of people in the region and improve traffic safety. The motorway is located between two very important international border crossings: Šentilj and Gruškovje.

The total value of the project is EUR 56.2 million excluding VAT. Pomgrad, as the leading partner, carried out works on the section in the amount of EUR 32 million. The deadline was set at 28 months and construction took place from July 2017 to November 2017.

"The newly-built motorway with four overpasses, one underpass, 12 bridges, and two passages has been added to the traffic network as a modern four-lane road in a transverse profile with two emergency lanes and two junctions at Lancova vas and Podlehnik. The motorway enables the highest legal speed limit in Slovenia, 130 kilometers per hour", said the project's manager Jožef Trstenjak. The construction of this part of the motorway was quite peculiar, since it was built on the site of the existing main road G1-9 from Maribor to Gruškovje while allowing the international traffic to run uninterrupted along the construction site. Another challenge was organizing work during the summer tourist season, when the traffic load on this section is extremely high.

The new motorway section is also a benefit to a large part of the local population that had to endure long congestions toward the border crossing Gruškovje, reaching their peak during summer seasons. The completion of the section within the planned deadline and within the given financial frameworks proves that domestic construction companies have excellent knowledge and quality personnel for executing demanding infrastructure projects.