On the first day of the opening of the Smokovac–Mateševo motorway, a section of the Bar–Boljare highway, 18,000 vehicles drove on it on July 14, according to the Montenegrin management company Monteput.
The section of the highway, whose construction began in 2015 with a two-year delay, was ceremoniously opened on the evening of July 13, on Montenegro’s Statehood Day.
The length of the section is 41.5 km: 20 bridges on the main route, nine bridges on the interchange ramps, two overpasses, eight underpasses, 7.2 km of concrete walls, and 16 twin-tube tunnels.
Until July 21, travel on the road is free; from July 21, the toll will be 1.5 euros for motorcycles, 3.5 euros for passenger cars, and 17 euros for buses and trucks.
The Government of Montenegro took out a loan from the Chinese Exim Bank to build this section. This move increased the state debt by almost one billion euros.