Signing of the grant contract provides support from the EU Cohesion Fund for the project of securing and modernizing 95 level crossings. The project is expected to be completed in 2023.
The Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković, the President of Croatian Railways Infrastructure Ivan Kršić and the Director of the Central Finance and Contracting Agency Tomislav Petric signed a grant agreement earlier today for the project of securing and modernizing railway crossings.
Traversing a level crossing, especially in conditions of poor visibility and at crossings marked with a lone traffic warning sign, is a common site of traffic accidents in which pedestrians, drivers and cyclists are involved, often with fatal consequences. The Programme for the rehabilitation of rail-road and pedestrian crossings for the 2018 – 2022 period found that out of 1511 level crossings in the Republic of Croatia, as many as 62.4% are not equipped with security devices.
Based on the volume of road traffic and the level of preparedness for rehabilitation, the Programme has identified priority crossings, 95 of which will be secured as part of the project. All crossings will be equipped with automatic electronic signalling and safety devices which use modern LED light signals and warning bells, while 79 of the 95 crossings are scheduled to have halfbarriers added as well.
Implementation solutions of all crossings are designed taking into account interoperability standards. The installed equipment will meet all prescribed safety and technical requirements and achieve compliance with safety elements in accordance with EU directives. Modernization of the crossings will greatly contribute to increasing the safety of rail and road traffic.
The project includes the rehabilitation of a large number of crossings in Požega-Slavonia County (22), Bjelovar-Bilogora County (21), Osijek-Baranja and Varaždin County (11 each) and Virovitica-Podravina County (9), but rehabilitation works will also be carried out elsewhere, mostly in continental Croatia. The total value of this project is HRK 208.7 million, while 85% of the eligible costs of the project will be financed from EU funds, ie HRK 142.6 million, and the rest will be provided from the State Budget. The total value of this project is 27,8 million euros, while 85% of the eligible costs or 19 million euros will be financed from the Cohesion Fund, and the rest will be provided from the State Budget. HŽ Infrastruktura intends to secure the last crossing by the end of 2023.