Croatia pre-research tips

[Dirk]

Hello everybody!

As we're doing some pre-research for ETS2, we'd like to know your opinion on some of the things which we shouldn't miss in the game in our future planned DLCs - in this case for the CROATIA state.

Unfortunately it can be very easy to miss some key spots when planning a future road network. We can judge only from what we read or see, while those who live there, have driven there or visited there, can point us towards some famous truck stops, interesting landmark, points of interest etc.

So we'd appreciate any tips which could be helpful for us and that could easily work with in-game mechanics. Try to keep in mind that we're interested in places connected with trucks and roads. So if you have some tips, we'd be grateful. Don't be shy to add photos / videos of said locations (in better quality, so our graphics can use them as pattern).

Please be aware, that states listed here mean absolutely no promise of what's the next DLC or what states will come first. Also we can't guarantee that we'll use the research you give us - it depends on many aspects (which can't be all written here).

Cheers! [ external image ]

[ikeSeki]

Can't believe this is happening but here we go

Map of Croatian highways with their numbers. I plan on going through all of them:

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But first let's start at the beggining. The border itself.

Border signs

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Speed limit sign when crossing the border. Trucks are limited to maximum 90 km/h on highways and to 80 km/h on other roads outside inhabited places.
Speed in settlements is limited to 50 km/h unless signs say otherwise.

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This sign might also welcome you:

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You can find all croatian signs you need in these links, including highway signs you'll notice on Google streetview, road numbers, speed limits, warning signs, road markings, etc.

http://autoskola-ispiti.com/prometni-zn ... nloadLinks
http://autoskola-ispiti.com/prometni-zn ... nloadLinks
http://autoskola-ispiti.com/prometni-zn ... nloadLinks
http://autoskola-ispiti.com/prometni-zn ... nloadLinks
http://autoskola-ispiti.com/prometni-zn ... nloadLinks
http://autoskola-ispiti.com/prometni-zn ... nloadLinks
http://autoskola-ispiti.com/prometni-zn ... nloadLinks


Highways will follow in ther separate posts.

[ikeSeki]

Let's start with A2 because why not.

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A2 highway/motorway is located in the north and connects northeast Slovenia (border crossing Macelj) with Zagreb to the south, hence it's referred as the A2 Zagreb - Macelj highway.

A2 is around 60 km long so it will/would be quite a challenge to represent it, starting from the border to the Jankomir interchange with A3 highway (west Zagreb). A2 highway is a part of the European route E59 and the Pan-European Corridor Xa.

This highway is tolled and it's using a closed toll collection system. There is a total of 6 junctions/exits and 3 rest areas.

Approaching border crossing Macelj when heading north towards Slovenia. Trucks have their own lane (note the road markings too)

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Bird view reveals rest area for trucks between two checkpoints (this is just croatian side of the border):

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Soon after the border you approach Toll booth Trakošćan.

Signs for Pay toll look like this (note the orange flashing lights on the side)

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Then you have pay toll sign on the right (white sign behind the speed limit says "Height check", I'm guessing due to tunnels on this highway)

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Toll booth Trakošćan

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After around 7 km south of Trakošćan toll both, A2 turns into only 2-lane highway as there is a 3,7 km long unfinished section due to hilly terrain that proved too much on this highway's budget.
Speed limit is down to 80 km/h for that section.

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There is a total of 6 tunnels, longest being Sveta Tri Kralja, 1740 m. This tunnel is a part of that 3,7 km long unfinished section. Tunnel is located near Krapina, largest city on this highway.

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After exiting tunnel, towards south, highway turns back into normal 2+2 format.

Going further south, highway is passing through flat area. There is an interesting looking shopping area "Roses Designer Outlet", near Sv. Križ Začretje exit.

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Rest area Sv. Križ Začretje close to it is the largest rest area on A2 highway. A typical looking gas station on highways

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We reach the end of tolled part of the highway by paying at the Zaprešić toll booth. Mountain Medvednica on the left (Zagreb is behind it) and West Gate shooping mall on the right.

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After Zaprešić toll booth we cross river Sava which passes through Zagreb and after that we reach interchange Jankomir which marks the end of A2 highway. A2/E59 joins A3/E70 on that interchange.

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There are lakes west of the interchange, river Sava east of it, and Zagreb starts as soon as you cross the bridge.

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Timelapse video of A2 (you'll notice it's starting from the Southern part (Zagreb-Jankomir interchange) towards north (border crossing Macelj) which is opposite of what I showed above).

0:33 Jankomir interchange (start of A2)

Watch on YouTube

Next up will be A4 highway which connects Zagreb with Hungary (Budapest).

[ikeSeki]

It's time for the A4 highway.

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A4 starts from the border crossing Goričan/Letenye (border with Hungary) where it continues as highway M7 in Hungary towards Budapest. A4 spans south towards Zagreb where it joins A3 highway on Ivanja Reka interchange.

Total length is 97 km. A4 is a part of European routes E65 and E71. The A4 highway route also follows Pan-European corridor Vb.

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Goričan/Letenye border crossing

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After the Goričan/Letenye border crossing, towards Zagreb, highway crosses river Mura which marks entrance to Croatia (natural border is following river Mura).

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The A4 is a tolled motorway using a closed toll system. First toll booth you encounter is Goričan (if you are entering A4 from Hungary).

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First 33 km of the A4 are very flat with fields around the highway.

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Highway crosses river Drava east of the city Varaždin

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After the bridge itself you reach Varaždin exit and then soon after the exit, highway enters hilly area south of Varaždin.

There is a total of 2 tunnels on the A4 highway and both of them are close to each other. They are both pretty short though. Longest tunnel Vrtlinovec is 628 m long (northern tube is shorter).

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The highway consists of two traffic lanes and an emergency lane in each driving direction separated by a central reservation. There are no emergency lanes in the tunnels.

Appearaence of the highway changes with heavy forest areas in that hilly section. Hilly section is around 23 km long.

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Highway then flattens out again going further south towards Zagreb and is surrounded by more fields and less trees again. Eventually you will reach toll booth Sveta Helena which marks the end of tolled part of the A4 (but that is not the end of A4 highway).

Toll booth Sveta Helena. Croatian toll booths have so called ENC lanes (Electronic toll collection)

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Right after the toll booth there is a Sveta Helena interchange between A4 highway and D10 road (D10 is also a 4 lane road but not classified as highway, we just call it "fast road").

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Continuing south on the A4 towards Zagreb there is a rest area "Sesvete". It has gas station, a restaurant, caffe bar, restrooms. There is a total of 3 rest areas on the A4 highway, Sesvete which I just mentioned, Ljubeščica located in the hilly section, and Varaždin rest area between Varaždin exit and Drava bridge mentioned earlier. Sesvete and Ljubeščica are larger rest areas, while Varazdin one is only parking.

After Sesvete rest area, going south, we are approaching the end of A4 highway. Interchange Ivanja Reka is where A4/E65/E71 highway ends and joins A3/E70 highway. It's one of the larger interchanges and definitely very important. It also provides important entrance to the eastern part of Zagreb city via 4 lane Slavonska avenue.

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Great timelapse of complete A4 highway starting from Ivanja Reka interchange going north towards border crossing with Hungary:

Watch on YouTube

Next up will be A3 highway which is the most important and heaviest transit route through Croatia.

[BK Vissers]

It’s interesting you mentioned Trakošćan because it’s also a castle.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trakošćan_Castle

I’ve visited it and it’s an impressive place to see. More importantly for truckers, the route to it is a winding road, that had plenty of truck traffic and is by scenic. Definitely worth including in Croatia.

[ikeSeki]

Yes Trakošćan is a castle in the village of Trakošćan. Since it's only 7 km from the A2 highway (and Macelj border crossing) it has a Toll booth named after the village and there is also highway exit called Trakošćan between the toll booth and the border crossing.

As far as I know trucks that are in transit (not local traffic) are not allowed to even exit the highway and drive on the road (D508) that leads to Trakošćan.

It would be cool to include it and maybe have a parking rest area next to it (as IRL there is parking for buses) BUT I think scale would be a serious problem since everything is so close, border crossing (which already has truck parking), exit off the highway and toll booth.

And also you have two important cities (Zagreb and Maribor) connected via A2 that are close to each other (around 95 km IRL) and considering 1:19 scale that is only 5 km in the game

We shall let SCS decide.

[ikeSeki]

A3 - most important transit route through Croatia as it is the fastest/shortest route from Serbia, BiH, Greece, Bulgaria, FYROM and Turkey to Central/Western Europe.

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A3 is a part of European route E70 and also follows Pan-European Corridor X, and forms junctions with Pan-European Corridors Vb and Vc within Croatia.

Total lenght of the A3 is 307 km. A3 in Croatia spans between the Bregana border crossing with Slovenia (highway A2 in Slovenia) and the Bajakovo border crossing to Serbia (highway A3 in Serbia).
A3 has plenty of important interchanges with other highways in Croatia (interchanges with highways A2, A1, A11, A4 and A5) and a couple of other roads. It also serves as a Zagreb bypass.

To add even more, A3 has open toll collection system in one section, but also closed toll collection system on the other section. Between those two different toll collection systems, highway is not tolled on Zagreb bypass section.


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But let's start from the start.

Border crossing "Bregana/Obrežje" (Croatia/Slovenia). Slovenian side of the border has a huge truck parking. It's not unusual to see several km long queues for trucks on "Bregana" border crossing. Even though Croatia is a part of EU, our borders are still checkpoints with other EU countries (Slovenia, Hungary) due to Shengen zone.

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Very close to the border (500 m) is toll booth "Bregana". Toll booth "Bregana" is an open toll collection system (there is no ticket, you pay right away in both directions).

Toll booth "Bregana" below

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Next up (going east) is interchange "Jankomir" providing connection to A2 highway and also important entrance to west part of Zagreb via 4 lane "Ljubljanska avenue".

This interchange also marks the start of Zagreb bypass. A3 serves as Zagreb bypass so this section is not tolled until we reach toll booth "Zagreb istok" (Zagreb east).

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After "Jankomir" interchange you reach "Plitvice rest area". It has everything you need, including a Motel Plitvice. It's also interesting because it has a pedestrian bridge over the highway so both sides of the rest area can reach the Motel.

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Very soon after this rest area heading east (1,8 km) you reach interchange "Lučko", probably the largest in Croatia.

"Lučko" interchange connects highways A3 and A1, and also includes important entrance to Southwest Zagreb via 6 lane "Jadranska avenue".

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Next up on highway A3 (Zagreb bypass section) is this weird part with 2 intersections very close to each other.

Left one ("Buzin") serves as entrance to south Zagreb. Bigger one (cloverleaf) is an interchange between A3 and highway A11. This will eventually be built north and serve as a new south Zagreb entrance. When that happens, left intersection will be demolished.

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Next up heading east is interchange "Velika Kosnica". This junction serves as an entrance to southeast Zagreb via 4 (partly 6) lane "Radnička road" and also for new terminal of Zagreb Airport south of A3.

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After that highway A3 crosses Sava river and reaches interchange "Ivanja Reka". A3 continues east (right) and highway A4 starts from that interchange going north.

This interchange also serves as an important entrance to east part of Zagreb via 4 lane "Slavonska avenue".

Just after the interchange there is a potential delivery/pickup point. IKEA store.

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Near IKEA, highway A3 actually has total of 8 lanes (4 in each direction, 2 outer lanes in each direction were added to A3). They are all divided into 2+2+2+2. Serves as preparation for interchange "Ivanja Reka" and also entrance to IKEA to not mix it with A3 traffic which can stay in inner 4 lanes. That is new and totally different than what you see in Google streetview.

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Also note that IKEA is not alone anymore on that location. In 2018. Designer Outlet Croatia Shopping buildings were born next to IKEA.

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Passing IKEA heading east, A3 returns back into classic 4 lane highway. 8,5 km later you reach toll booth "Zagreb istok" which marks the start of closed toll collection system on A3 highway when heading east of Zagreb (end of untolled Zagreb bypass section).

This "new" toll booth has 26 lanes and it's location is moved furher east then what you see on Google streetview. Opened in 2013.

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We'll move east faster now and mention only more important exits on the A3.

Exit #11 - Okučani. Connects European route E661 (D5 in Croatia) to the A3. South of the exit is border crossing "Stara Gradiška" to enter Bosnia & Herzegovina and also to a fairly large city of Banja Luka.

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Exits #14 and #15 - Slavonski Brod zapad and istok (Slavonski Brod west and east) if you decide to include Slavonski Brod City.
Red=Exits
Blue=Rest area "Marsonija" on the A3 highway

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Worth noting that A3 through one part of Slavonski Brod has sound barriers

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After Slavonski Brod heading east, you will reach important interchange "Sredanci" (Exit #16 on A3). This is where A3 interchanges with A5 highway in Croatia. A5 is important because it leads to city of Osijek (also Pecs in Hungary and eventually Bosnia&Herzegovina) and follows Pan-European corridor Vc. A5 will get it's own post.

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We are nearing the end of the A3 heading east. Before you reach the border crossing with Serbia, A3 has 17 km long stretch through "Spačva forest". It's a very different look from all other scenery on the A3 which is mostly through fields and only very short forest patches.

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Here you will find rest area "Spačva" and toll booth "Lipovac" which marks the end of closed toll connection system when heading east.

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After the tool booth "Lipovac" is border crossing "Bajakovo"/"Batrovci" with Serbia. Known for long waiting times and often several km long queues.

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Video (realtime) starts from border crossing "Bajakovo"/"Batrovci" with Serbia and ends on "Lučko" interchange where A3 meets A1 (mentioned earlier above)

Watch on YouTube

Same video but as 2x timelapse. Same section as above but you have to start from 38:14 because that is where the border starts.

Watch on YouTube

A5 highway will be next.

[ikeSeki]

Let's continue. The A5 highway in Croatia.

The A5 represents a north–south transportation corridor in eastern Croatia and is a part of the European route E73. The A5 highway route also follows Pan-European corridor Vc.

The A5 is NOT completed yet and is still under construction (56 km in traffic out of total 89 km). Once completed it will connect to hungarian M6 highway near Pecs and to the A1 highway in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the south. A5 is passing through flat area, sourrounded by fields and small patches of forrests.

The A5 is a tolled highway and is using a closed toll collection system. Closed toll collection is also integrated with the A3 highway.

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I'll start from the south - border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bridge "Svilaj" over "Sava" river, on the border between Croatia and BiH, is under construction and will be a part of this highway. Bridge itself will have 6 lanes (3 in each direction). It is expected to be open for traffic by the end of 2019 but that is not 100% sure because border crossings also have to be built on both sides.

Latest photo from 27/28 JAN 2019:

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Red: bridge "Svilaj" (Under construction)
Yellow: border crossing (under construction)
Green: toll booth "Svilaj" (IN FUNCTION but not important for transit until the bridge is open)

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Going north from the toll booth, first important thing to note is interchange "Sredanci" with A3 highway. If you want to follow E73 route south to Bosnia (since this bridge is still not finnished), you have to join A3 highway on this interchange and take exit "Velika Kopanica" which will take you to the border crossing "Slavonski Šamac".

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The A5 has been named "Slavonika" after "Slavonija" region (eastern Croatia) (photo from interchange Sredanci with A3 highway)

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Just north of this interchange, A5 crosses railroad Zagreb-Belgrade. This overpass is 673 m long

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Heading further north, largest rest area on A5 is called "Ivandvor"

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Once you reach exit "Osijek" going north, that is the end of A5 highway (end of the part which is allowed for traffic).

Exit "Osijek"

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Exit "Osijek", Toll booth Osijek and connection to national road D2 which leads to the city of Osijek.

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From this point going north you have to take national road D7 from Osijek to Beli Manastir (which is a part of E73) to reach the border with Hungary because the A5 is still in slow construction heading towards M6 highway in Hungary.

Just north of exit Osijek on the A5 is the bridge "Drava" over river Drava. Bridge is really beautiful but sadly it's still not open for traffic due to unfinished A5 north of the bridge.

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[leotom179]

First sorry for not so great English. Except of highways, i would like to see some of main magistral roads in Croatia.

Firstly, the D1 (Državna cesta 1 - State road 1) which connect Zagreb and Split, also called Lička magistrala (named by Lika - Croatian mountain region through which it passes).
It was main connection between this two cities before A1 Highway was built. Today is used as alternative way for those who dont want to pay toll.
Some main towns and objects I would like to see are Rastoke and Plitvice lakses (UNESCO heritage), and towns Knin and Sinj.

Furthermore, one very important road is D8 (Državna cesta 8 - State road 8) which connect all main cities and towns of Croatian Adriatic coast. It is called Jadranska magistrala or Jadran touristic road.
Most important cities are Rijeka, Senj, Zadar, Šibenik, Split, Ploče and Dubrovnik.
Also, some important objects I would like to see are Maslenica Bridge, Šibenik bridge, and Franjo Tuđman bridge at Dubrovnik.

Also, it would be cool if you can add Podravska magistrala (D2) between Varaždin and OSijek with main towns Koprivnica, Virovitica and Slatina. Its also alternative way for those who want to avoid tolls.

And last, but not least, one road also important is road between Zagreb and Slavonija which is on all its way almost parallel with A3 Highway.

[plinio.lisboa.br]

FACTORY WOODEN CABLE DRUMS.
In the ETS2 game, we transport many loads that make use of wooden coils (drums) for the transportation of; electrical wires and steel cables.
  So far, we do not have the factories that produce this product.
  Researching CROATIA, a company was found that manufactures this type of product.And yet, another company was found that manufactures the machines that produce these spools (located in Serbia).
the video is about a company that manufactures these spools (possibly in Serbia but researching that country, I did not find any company) but the search results pointed to a company in Croatia. So it makes sense to use both.
In conclusion, creating intra-regional trade in the western Balkans.
It is a great opportunity that can be included in the game.
Link reserch: https://www.moja-djelatnost.hr/proizvod ... o/MMxCFsZo

Localization:
Company: drvometalija-doo. City: Grdanjci, Croatia.
Link: http://www.drvometalija.hr/

Localization map: https://www.google.com.br/maps/place/Dr ... 1?hl=pt-BR

Localization Street View: https://www.google.com.br/maps/@45.8273 ... 6?hl=pt-BR

Video:
The video is from a company located in Serbia, that produces the equipment, that can be used in the manufacture of spinning reels, so it serves as an
illustration of the construction process, of this type of product and that is missing in the ETS2 game.
Croatia could be exporting to Europe in the game, these spools.

Watch on YouTube

For the purposes of the ETS2 game, and I make a suggestion that it may exist in the trade in reel-making machines, it may be transported from Serbia
to Croatia.
  In turn, Croatia can export the spools to all of Europe and also to the DLC region.
It would be cool.

City alternative: Samobor.
The original city, Grdanjci, where this important company for ETS 2, is located close to the border. It may not be possible to map properly, but there is a nearby city, Samobor, which has other attractions. The company could be in Samobor.

City:

Watch on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIBfEq1uB0c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAW3pXThyuA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xewyG-3s69k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VgmCHAvpIk

Monument - Stari grad Samobor:

Watch on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzU6m2K5wSc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk9H-bIn6Z0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoBDWlhxjVM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhT7UASnJE0

Economy:
paint factory: https://www.samoborka.hr/
bus company: http://www.samoborcek.hr/
Metal packaging factory (for food and preserves): http://www.lim-samobor.hr/hr/13/O-nama/
logistical company: https://www.google.com.br/maps/@45.8122 ... e0!7i13312 ! 8i6656? Hl = en