The Construction of the U？ka Tunnel. From the Idea to Realization (1964—1981)

Sa？etak The construction of the U？ka Tunnel was one of the most important undertakings in the political and public life of Istria during the second half of the twentieth century. From the Istrian viewpoint, the drilling of a tunnel through Mt. U？ka meant facilitating every type of communication with the rest of Croatia but it also had the symbolic and political connotation of linking Croatian territories. The subject is approached from the historical aspect, in an attempt to explain the most important elements during the construction of the tunnel. The main objective of this paper is to present the political, economic and traffic significance of the tunnel. The text covers the entire plan for the construction of the U？ka Tunnel starting from 1964, i.e., from the beginning of the creation of the Regional Physical Plan of Istria to the opening of the tunnel for traffic in 1981