Decree on Categorization of State Roads Amended – Three New Highways Included, Category of Motorways Introduced with 19 Traffic Routes

At least on paper, Serbia has officially gotten another three highways. At the most recent session of the Government of Serbia, the new highways were officially included in the amended Decree on the Categorization of State Roads along with the existing nine. Under the amendments to this decree, the three new highways will carry the tags A10-A12 in the highest category of the traffic routes in Serbia, and what is now definitively clear is that the section toward Bosnia and Herzegovina (toward the Kotroman border crossing), announced for years, will be built as a highway and not a fast road.

The A10 tag will be given precisely to the section: connection with the state road A2 (Pozega) – Sevojno – state border with Bosnia and Herzegovina (Kotroman border crossing), whereas the A11 tag will be given to the connection with the state road A9 – Pancevo – connection with the state road A1 (Batajnica).

The future A12 highway will be the traffic route in the country’s south which has been announced for years as the future “Peace Highway”, with the following route: connection with the state road A1 (Merosina interchange) – Merosina – Prokuplje – Kursumlija – AP Kosovo and Metohija administrative line (Merdare).

Let us remind that, so far, the following traffic routes have been included among the IA-grade sections, that is, highways: A1 (the highway from the border with Hungary to the border with North Macedonia, that is, Corridor 10), A2 (partially completed, that is, the highway under construction from Belgrade to the border with Montenegro – the Milos Veliki highway), A3 (the highway from Belgrade to the border with Croatia near Batrovci), A4 (the east leg of Corridor 10 from Nis to the border with Bulgaria), A5 (Morava Corridor, partially finished, mostly still under construction), A6 (the future Novi Sad – Zrenjanin – Belgrade highway), A7 (the highway under construction Kuzmin – Sremska Raca), A8 (the Ruma – Sabac highway) and A9 (the future Bubanj Potok – Pancevo – border with Romania highway).

Traffic routes to be IM-grade state roads in the future

The introduction of the category of motorways (traffic routes known for years as fast routes) has been discussed by the state authorities for a long time now, and this was also made official at the most recent session of the Government of Serbia as part of the amended Decree on the Categorization of State Roads. The amendments to this document introduce the category of IM-grade state roads – motorways.

According to the government’s decision, 19 traffic routes are included in the category of motorways. Some of them are built and have been in use for a long time, whereas others are being built, and others yet are planned for construction.

These traffic routes will carry the tags M1-M19.

M1 State border with Hungary (Backi Breg border crossing) – Sombor – Kula – Vrbas – Srbobran – Becej – Novi Becej – Kikinda – state border with Romania (Srpska Crnja border crossing) – state road under construction also known as the Vojvodina Smile

M2 Connection with the state road A1 (Novi Sad jug interchange) – Novi Sad – Irig – Ruma – connection with the state roads A3 and A8 (Ruma interchange) – state road under construction also known as the Fruska Gora Corridor

M3 Connection with the state road A8 (Sabac) – Loznica – state road under construction

M4 Badovinci – Slepcevic

M5 Novi Becej – Zrenjanin

M6 Belgrade (Kovilovo interchange) – Pancevo

M7 Connection with the state road A1 (Pozarevac interchange) – Pozarevac – Veliko Gradiste – Golubac – Donji Milanovac – Brza Palanka – state road under construction also known as the Daunube Corridor (to Golubac) with the extension also knows as the Djerdap Corridor (from Golubac onward)

M8 Kladovo – Negotin – Zajecar

M9 Valjevo – Lajkovac – connection with the state road A2 (Lajkovac interchange) – state road under construction

M10 Connection with the state road A2 – Lazarevac – Arandjelovac – Raca – Svilajnac – Despotovac – Bor – Zajecar

M11 Connection with the state roads A1 and A3 (Belgrade interchange) – Aerodrom interchange – Mostar interchange – connection with the state roads A1 and A9 (Bubanj Potok interchange), that is, the route until now known as the highway through Belgrade

M12 Connection with the state road M11 (Aerodrom interchange) – Nikola Tesla Airport

M13 Connection with the state road A1 (Mali Pozarevac interchange) – Mladenovac – Arandjelovac (connection with the state road M10)

M14 Topola – Kragujevac

M15 Connection with the state road A1 (Batocina interchange) – Batocina – Kragujevac – Knic – connection with the state road A5 (Katrga interchange)

M16 Connection with the state road A1 (Paracin) – Zajecar – Vrska Cuka border crossing

M17 Connection with the state road A5 – Kraljevo – Raska – Novi Pazar

M18 Nova Varos – Sjenica – Novi Pazar

M19 Raska – AP Kosovo and Metohija administrative line (Jarinje)

Reading this document leads to the conclusion that, even with the official introduction of the category of motorways, there is still the category of IB-grade roads (the grade which was until now right below the IA category, that is, highways) as one of the categories of state roads of the first grade, along with highways and motorways.

Let us remind that, at the end of October 2023, the minister of construction, transport and infrastructure of Serbia, Goran Vesic, announced that the highway through Belgrade from the Dobanovci interchange to Bubanj Potok, along with some others, would be included in a whole new category of roads in Serbia – motorways. Vesic pointed out at the time that the Decree on the Criteria for the Categorization of Public Roads would be further amended not long after, entailing the introduction of the category of motorways.

D. Aleksic

Vlada Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo građevinarstva, saobraćaja i infrastrukture Republike Srbije

Government of Serbia

Ministry of Construction Transport and Infrastructure

Goran Vesic

Decree on the Categorization of State Roads

Corridor 10

Morava Corridor

Danube Corridor

Djerdap Corridor

Vojvodina Smile

Milos Veliki highway

motorways

IM grade state roads

IA grade state roads

IB grade state roads

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport

Bubanj Potok interchange

Mali Pozarevac interchange

Katrga interchange

Batrovci border crossing

Vrska Cuka border crossing

Presevo border crossing