The experience of planning and operating of motorways in Croatia with a focus on brown bear protection Bojan Vivoda September 2018 RIJEKA-ZAGREB MOTORWAY PLC. • established in 1997 as Public Limited Company • 100% state-owned • second largest motorway company in Croatia • operates 187 km of motorways INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS Since the beginning of the concession: Ø € 955 mil. in construction and road equipment of motorway ü Rijeka – Zagreb Motorway: € 815 mil. ü RI Bypass: € 140 mil. Ø Approx. € 30 mil. in investment maintenance CONSTRUCTION PHASES Lenght No Section Profile In use since (km) 1 (Rijeka) Orehovica - Kikovica 10,50 motorway 1971. 7,37 semimotorway 1982. 2 Kikovica - Oštrovica 7,37 motorway 2007. 10,99 semimotorway 1996. 3 Oštrovica - Vrata 1,44 motorway 2007. 4 Vrata - Delnice 8,93 motorway 1996./08. 5 Delnice - Kupjak 7,92 motorway 1997./08. 3,58 semimotorway 2003. 6 Kupjak - Vrbovsko 4,01 motorway 2008. 9,84 motorway 2003./06. 13,86 motorway 2004. 7 Vrbovsko - Bosiljevo 2 8,8 motorway 2007. 8 Čvor Bosiljevo 2 2,92 motorway 2003. 9 Bosiljevo 2 - Vukova Gorica 7,81 motorway 2003. 10 Vukova Gorica - Karlovac 18,16 motorway 2001. 11 Karlovac - Lučko (Zagreb) 39,28 motorway 1972. RIJEKA – ZAGREB MOTORWAY TODAY MOTORWAY IN FIGURES • 18 tunnels, in total length of • EuroTAP 2008: Veliki Gložac 13 km Tunnel among for best European • longest – Tuhobić tunnel, in tunnels total length of 2.14 km, at 700 meters above sea level, • EuroTAP 2009: connecting Gorski Kotar and Tuhobić Tunnel awarded as Croatian Littoral regions second best tunnel the Brown Bear on Zagreb - Rijeka Motorway September 2012 Habitat protection • Habitat protection by improving spatial permeability of wildlife habitat can be achieved through variety of measures incorporated in highway designs. • Wildlife habitat corridors don't just conserve connectivity they also provide ways to make highways safer for both people and wildlife. • Mitigation measures can be considered from multiple perspectives: 1) Protecting the particular endangered spices 2) Ensuring the acceptance of wildlife by locals and highway users by preventing traffic and other accidents that include wildlife 3) Enabling optimal construction and operating costs 4) Increasing traffic safety 5) Minimizing risks for traffic and accountability for highway operators 6) … Stages of infrastructure development 1. Planning & designing phase • Environmental impact study 2. Constructing phase • On site inspections 3. Operating & maintaining phase • Monitoring (and improvements) • Standardized procedures Many new highways since year 2000 2000 highway Karlovac-Rijeka 68 km 2004 highway Bosiljevo-Split 250 km Do they threaten large carnivores? 100 ¹ km Width Highway section Bosiljevo - Rijeka Object type N (m) Bridge 898 3 Overpass 40 6 Underpass 115 5 Tunnel 10045 12 Viaduct 5869 17 Green bridge 100 1 All objects 17127 44 Section length 68534 (m) Objects width(%) 25,0% Green bridge Dedin PROBLEMS with man-made structures ► Habitat fragmentation ► Disturbance, polution, .... ► Direct mortality Communication between stakeholders • Honest and open communication between stakeholders is crucial as well as persistence in seeking the best solutions. • Stakeholders: 1. Government bodies, ministries 2. Owners 3. NGOs 4. Local community 5. Experts 6. Designers 7. Contractors • During the planning phase it is important to follow the legal procedure of permits obtaining taking into the consideration stakeholders opinions. Environmental Impact Assessment • Environmental Impact Assessment is a process of assessing the acceptability of an intended environmental action and determining the environmental protection measures required to minimize the impact and achieve the highest possible environmental quality assurance. • The assessment procedure shall be carried out at an early stage of the planning process prior to issuing a location permit or other approval for a procedure for which a location permit is not required. • The procedure is systematically regulated and aligned with the relevant EU directives Environmental Impact Assessment • Environmental Impact Assessment is a process of assessing the acceptability of an intended environmental action and determining the environmental protection measures required to minimize the impact and achieve the highest possible environmental quality assurance. • The assessment procedure shall be carried out at an early stage of the planning process prior to issuing a location permit or other approval for a procedure for which a location permit is not required. • The procedure is systematically regulated and aligned with the relevant EU directives: Council Directive 85/337 / EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, as amended by Council Directive 97/11 / EC of 3 March 1997 and Directive 2003/35 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003. • The list of interventions listed in Annex I, which is an integral part of the Regulation, are the procedures for which the environmental impact assessment procedure is mandatory. In the List of Procedures in Annex II which is an integral part of the Regulation, are the actions for which an assessment is made of the need for environmental impact assessment and for which the Ministry is competent and in the list of interventions in Annex III. which also met a part of the Regulation, are the actions for which an assessment is made of the need for environmental impact assessment and for which is the competent administrative body in the county or in the City of Zagreb. The criteria on the basis of which it is decided to assess the impact of the environmental impact assessment are set out in Annex V, which is an integral part of the Regulation. Environmental Impact Assessment • The assessment procedure is initiated at the written request of the owner/developer, and the content of the request is stipulated in Article 80 of the Environmental Protection Act. The study must assess the impact of planned environmental interventions on the basis of factors that, depending on the action and the characteristics of the environment, condition the distribution, strength and duration of the influence. • The study must contain all the necessary information, documentation, explanations and descriptions in the text and graphic form, the proposal of the acceptability assessment of the project and the environmental measures in relation to the operation and, where appropriate, the environmental monitoring program. The study must be made on the basis of the latest, credible and available data, made by the authorized person - a legal person who has the authority to carry out these tasks, and the cost of the study is borne by the developer. • The impact of the project on the environment, its evaluation and acceptability is evaluated by the commission on the basis of the study. • When a competent authority receives a request for an environmental impact assessment, it shall inform the public thereof. The information contains basic information on the procedure, location, operator, competent body, other participants in the procedure, the manner of conducting the assessment procedure, the manner of public participation and the public concerned, and the manner of notifying the outcome of the procedure. Legal procedure • Before 2007 preparation of an IAS for mayor infrastructure projects was compulsory prior obtaining building permits, but at that time it was called “requirements of a spatial arrangement”. • IAS exists as an instrument to introduce all requirements and obligations for the investor/owner and contractor regarding environment protection. As a result of an IAS the mitigation plan is prepared and implemented as a part of the highway designs. • The novelty was required mitigation environment plan for the contractors during construction phase that was not compulsory by law but it was required by the construction contract. Levels of mitigation measures 1. Spatial planning of highway alignment considering habitat permeability of area by wildlife corridors modeling (not likely) 2. Designing basic measures or structures (i.e. wire mesh fences) taking into consideration the wildlife species in surrounding (crucial) 3. Designing of major structures as green bridges, long bridges (instead of stone filled abutments) and underpasses (of proper dimension) to mitigate shortcomings of final highway alignment and to improve habitat permeability (likely, but requires a cooperation of designer and wildlife expert to make decision where is insufficient natural over or underpasses) 4. Incorporating new technologies in to the design of highway equipment primary to lower the maintenance costs and to improve the efficiency of all protective measures (highly recommended) 5. Highway operation or maintenance planning based on data collected and considering possible traffic accidents with wildlife (highly recommended) Measures for wildlife protection • The measures for wildlife protection in regards of highway alignment, construction and operating can be categorized as: 1. Spatial planning (incorporating wildlife corridors modeling) 2. Improving habitat permeability measures (construction of green bridges, underpasses) 3. Wildlife deterring measures (wire mesh fences, jump-out ramps, one way doors, etc.) 4. Organizational measures (emergency intervention teams establishing) 5. Indirect mitigation measures (wildlife-proof rubbish beans and containers, etc.) 6. Data collection and analysis – GIS