The first four kilometres of the Istrian Ypsilon, from the Učka tunnel towards Matulji, will open to traffic in ten days, while the full profile project is set to be completed by early 2027, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković announced.
Butković visited the Matulji junction site on Thursday alongside the President of the Board of Directors of Hrvatske autoceste (Croatian Motorways) Boris Huzjan, the Director of Bin Istria Daria Šilić, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Prefect Ivan Lukanović, and the Istria County Prefect Boris Mileti, along with the Matulji municipal head Ingrid Debeu.
The full profile section from the Učka tunnel to the Matulji junction is 10.5 kilometres long, with the value of the works amounting to approximately €200 million. The first four kilometres will open six months ahead of schedule, while the Lim Draga viaduct is due to be completed by the end of August. The Matuli junction, valued at €17.7 million, will connect the Istrian Ypsilon to the national motorway network.
The minister highlighted that the junction, with its exits for Opatija and Matuli, will permanently resolve the local traffic bottleneck. He noted that approximately 40 percent of tourist traffic enters via this section of the Y-shaped motorway.
A total of over €600 million has been invested in the completion of the route from Pazin to Matuli, in cooperation with the concessionaire Bin Istria. During this government's term, the full profile from Učka to Pazin has been completed, and the second tube of the Učka tunnel has been built.
The next step, according to Butković, is the transformation of the Y into an 'I' shape: the eastern part of Istria is to be served by a 40-kilometre stretch of motorway towards Labin. The project is defined in the spatial plan, is being prepared in conjunction with the concessionaire, and is supported by the European Commission, with work on the project planned to begin next year.
Butković also announced the start of works on the motorway towards Žuta Lokva. The section from Križišće to Jadrano will begin in the autumn, with the contract for the Jadrano-Selce section to be signed in ten days, and the section with the bypass of Novi Vinodolski to be completed by spring 2027.
