SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SREDANCI–OSIJEK–BELI MANASTIR MOTORWAY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CITY OF OSIJEK AND THE OSIJEK REGION

Sa？etak The Sredanci–？akovo–Osijek motorway, opened in 2009, with a planned extension to Beli Manastir and the Hungarian border, is a new element in the transport system of the City of Osijek and the Osijek region. This paper considers its significance and the consequences it will bring. The motorway has increased the significance of the Osijek multimodal hub: it has included Osijek in the Croatian motorway network and opened opportunities for connection to the Pan-European Corridor Vc, and with Corridor VII via the Drava River port at Nemetin. In the zones surrounding the motorway interchanges, the conditions have been created for new commercial activities. The motorway has accelerated the construction of the Osijek bypass road, which has stimulated better spatial distribution of the Osijek urban agglomeration. Regional impacts of this new road route are visible in the increase of two development axes: the main, transversal axis of ？akovo–？epin–Osijek–Darda–Beli Manastir and the longitudinal axis of (Virovitica) Na？ice–Osijek–Vukovar (Erdut)