The Grant Agreement was signed in Vinkovci for the project "Construction of the Apševci and Lipovac bypass - Rehabilitation of a hazardous location on the state road D57". The Grant Agreement guarantees EU funding for the project, within the framework of the Operational programme Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020.
On the occasion of the visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković, the Grant Agreement was signed in Vinkovci for the project “Construction of the Apševci and Lipovac bypass – Rehabilitation of a hazardous location on the state road D57”. The contract was signed by the Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković, the Director of the Central Finance and Contracting Agency Tomislav Petric and the Management Board President of Croatian Roads Ltd. Josip Škorić.
The project envisages the construction of a 4.2 km bypass in the following two and a half years. Bypassing the settlements of Apševci and Lipovac, the road connects the D57 and the A3 motorway at the Lipovac junction. The most challenging object on the bypass route is the new, 147.70 m long bridge over the river Bosut.
After the signing, Prime Minister Plenković stated: “A contract was just signed on the construction of the Apševci and Lipovac bypass, which is part of a broader investment in infrastructure development to improve transport connections. It is a project worth 17.6 million euros and will aid the economic development of Vukovar-Srijem County.“
An important investment in Vukovar-Srijem County
The new bypass will carry the freight traffic headed towards the nearby international road border crossings Bajakovo, Tovarnik and Ilok. Diverting transit traffic outside the settlements will quiet the rumble of trucks and lift up the pall of harmful emissions. This will ensure a better quality of life for the residents of Apševci and Lipovac.
The section of DC57 passing through these settlements in the Municipality of Nijemci is listed as a blackspot – the site of a disproportionate number of accidents resulting in injuries. This is due to, among other things, freight trucks, whose presence increases the likelihood of serious traffic accidents and causes rapid road surface degradation. The construction of the planned bypass will raise the level of safety for all traffic participants.
Considered from a broader vantage point, the Apševci and Lipovac bypass is a sub-section of the Ilok Transversal. The latter is an upcoming highway connecting Ilok with the A3 Lipovac – Zagreb motorway. This project thereby takes on regional significance, as an investment in the economic development of the Vukovar-Srijem County.
“Construction of the Apševci and Lipovac bypass – Rehabilitation of a hazardous location on the D57” is worth 17.6 million euros. The Grant Agreement guarantees EU funding for the project, within the framework of the Operational programme Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020. The European Regional Development Fund contribution exceeds 12 million euro. Over 2.1 million euro for the implementation of the project was secured in the State Budget.