Snow causes difficulties for drivers on Zenica – Sarajevo highway

Snow that began falling during the night from Sunday to Monday has caused difficulties for drivers on the Zenica – Sarajevo highway, and our readers have sent us several photos of parts of the highway in Tarčin and Vlakovo, writes the BiH news agency Patria.

Given that the road was not cleared, nor were the emergency lanes and toll booths, we asked JP Autoceste FBiH who is responsible for clearing. The response states that highway users often make unrealistic demands and do not adjust their driving to the conditions on the highway.

- Priorities and the order of clearing certain parts of the highway are defined during snow clearing. First, the route and toll booths are cleared, followed by interchanges and highway entrances, and only later rest stops and service facilities on the highway, to the extent that the highway remains passable – state Autoceste FBiH.

Namely, the photos we received were taken this morning around 4 AM, and Autoceste explains that passability is ensured if the snow depth on roads of priority class I and II does not exceed 10 cm.

- In order to raise traffic safety to the highest possible level during snow clearing operations, stricter timeframes have been set, and the work to complete snow clearing, i.e., that the road is cleared in its full profile, should be completed as soon as possible and never exceed 1-2 hours from the cessation of snowfall, depending on the amount. This was also the case on the mentioned day, meaning the snowfall began around 00:30, stopped around 1:40, and the toll booths were completely cleared by 02:40, which we verified via video surveillance – states this company.

Although the photos from our readers show a different picture, Autoceste once again drew attention to the speed limit on the highway in winter conditions. However, the photo of the cleared highway from December 30th also shows that the maintenance services are doing their job.