The 1227 metres Kotezi Viaduct is part of the A1 motorway

A1 (Croatia)

The A1 motorway is the longest motorway in Croatia spanning . As it connects Zagreb, the nation's capital, to Split, the second largest city in the country and the largest city in Dalmatia, the motorway represents a major north–south transportation corridor in Croatia and a significant part of the...

 in Croatia, located between Ravča

Ravča

Ravča is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D512 highway. Since December 2008, the A1 motorway has an eponymous exit located west of the village....

 and Vrgorac

Vrgorac

Vrgorac is a town in Croatia in the Split-Dalmatia County.The total population of Vrgorac is 6,501 , in the following settlements:* Banja, population 214* Dragljane, population 47* Draževitići, population 204* Duge Njive, population 106...

 interchanges. It is the second-longest viaduct found along the motorway. Construction and opening of the motorway section and the Kotezi Viaduct was marked by a naming dispute, causing the viaduct to be renamed twice in the month before the opening. The local population expressed concerns about the viaduct's effects on the drainage of floodwater from the karst

KARST

Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...

 polje

Polje

A polje is a large flat plain in karst territory, with areas usually 5 to 400 km². The name derives from the Slavic languages and is a cognate with the English word field.-In geology:...

 it spans and on groundwater

Groundwater

Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...

 levels in the area.

Structure

The Kotezi Viaduct is a reinforced concrete viaduct carrying the A1 motorway in Croatia between Ravča and Vrgorac, across the Bunina Polje

Polje

A polje is a large flat plain in karst territory, with areas usually 5 to 400 km². The name derives from the Slavic languages and is a cognate with the English word field.-In geology:...

. It is 1227 metres (4,025.6 ft) long and 28 metres (91.9 ft) wide, built as a dual structure, each part carrying two traffic lanes and an emergency lane

Shoulder (road)

A hard shoulder, or simply shoulder, is a reserved area by the verge of a road or motorway. Generally it is kept clear of motor vehicle traffic...

. The Kotezi Viaduct is the second-longest viaduct along the A1 motorway route, surpassed only by the Drežnik Viaduct

Drežnik Viaduct

The Drežnik Viaduct is located in Karlovac, Croatia, immediately to the south of the Karlovac interchange on the A1 motorway. It is the longest viaduct in Croatia, spanning . It is executed in seven segments , separated by expansion joints...

. The viaduct was built by a joint venture of DYWIDAG

DYWIDAG Systems International

DYWIDAG-Systems International is a globally operating technology group that has its focus on the Construction and Underground markets.DSI was founded in 1979 as a Dyckerhoff & Widmann AG subsidiary to market licences for DYWIDAG-Products and Systems around the world.At the beginning, DSI’s focus...

 and Strabag

Strabag

Strabag is a European construction company based in Villach, with its headquarters in Vienna, Austria). It is the largest construction company in Austria and one of the largest construction companies in Europe...

 and it represents the most complex structure along the Ravča–Vrgorac section of the A1 motorway.

Naming dispute

Construction of the viaduct was accompanied by a naming dispute. Originally the structure was named Kotezi Viaduct, after the nearest toponym, village of Kotezi, only to be changed to Bunina Viaduct less than a month before its opening to traffic. However, only days after the decision was publicized by newspapers, Hrvatske autoceste decided to revert to the original name following protests by residents of Kotezi village. The latest change was contested by residents of Bunina village, leading to a public exchanges or arguments which name should be finally applied. Days after opening of the A1 motorway section containing the viaduct, traffic signs bearing name of the viaduct were vandalized, and newspapers speculated that the event represented a continuation of the naming dispute.

Environmental concerns

Construction of the viaduct caused concern amongst the local population that an embankment used as a temporary structure during construction works would prevent drainage of water from the Bunina Polje spanned by the viaduct. The polje is regularly flooded each winter and spring due to high precipitation. Additional concerns were raised that the construction works may cause reduced yield of Betina spring and lack of flooding as was the case in 2008, when two adjacent poljes, Rastok and Jezero, were flooded unlike the Bunina Polje; any shortage of water presents a concern for agricultural production in the area. The three poljes, including Bunina, are classified as environmentally critical primarily because of improper application of fertilizer

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...

s in the karst

KARST

Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...

.