The border crossing, which on the Croatian side will be connected by a new link road to the Zagreb–Lipovac motorway, and on the Bosnian side via the new bridge over the Sava to the existing motorway leading toward Banja Luka and Doboj, is expected to be inaugurated on 11 December at a ceremony likely to be attended by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of BiH, Borjana Krišto, according to the Klix news portal.
Croatia's Ministry of Finance confirmed that the final construction and installation work on the Croatian side of the border crossing has been completed.
"All construction work and equipment installation at the new Gornji Varoš border crossing have been completed, and an application for its technical inspection has been submitted. The inspection will take place on 2 December," the ministry stated, as quoted by the Banja Luka daily Nezavisne novine.
The new Gradiška border crossing will be opened under a temporary arrangement until the two countries agree on amendments to the existing agreement on the categorisation of all border crossings. A similar temporary status has for years applied to the crossing on the Vc motorway corridor near Svilaj.
The decisions were made to relieve traffic at the old crossing, which is reached by a narrow road running through the centre of Gradiška, formerly Bosanska Gradiška. That route is the busiest in the area and has frequently experienced congestion.
The old crossing will remain operational, allowing cross-border travellers and freight transporters to move more easily between the two countries.
The new crossing connects to the new bridge over the Sava, completed in 2022 and jointly funded by Croatia and BiH with an investment of €19 million.