The management of the company Hrvatske autoceste – maintenance and toll collection has not yet made final decisions regarding the dismissals of responsible individuals in the company due to traffic congestion during the Easter holidays in the Sveti Rok tunnel caused by the repair of a damaged shaft, and this will only be done after analyzing all activities and facts, it is learned from HAC-ONC.
Some daily newspapers reported on Friday that, according to unofficial information, due to the chaos on the “Dalmatina” during the Easter holidays, the main culprits were declared to be Željko Vukelić, head of the southern direction, Tomislav Bišćanin, head of the Technical Unit Sveti Rok, Davor Bičanić, director of traffic safety, and Zrinka Drozdek, assistant director for traffic safety, and that they were dismissed by HAC-ONC director Josip Draženović. However, this has not been confirmed by HAC-ONC.
– This event has undeniably caused damage to the company in the form of reputational harm. Therefore, the management has undertaken an analysis of all undertaken activities and available facts based on which a valid decision will be made, it was stated by the public relations office of HAC-ONC.
HAC-ONC states that the decision must be based on accurately established factual conditions based on which responsible persons and the degree of their responsibility will be determined with certainty. Due to the congestion in front of the Sveti Rok tunnel on Easter Monday, Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković announced possible dismissals in HAC, up to the management level. HAC, on the other hand, denies that they were aware of the damaged shaft, which caused congestion during the Easter holidays, as early as January, emphasizing that they first received notification about it in mid-March, and that HAC-ONC reported damages on some other shafts that were repaired in the same month.
– The revision shaft number 17 in the Sveti Rok tunnel, which was repaired in March this year, and during whose repair traffic jams occurred on Easter Monday, was not reported to HAC in January, but was first reported by HAC ONC on March 17, 2016, via electronic mail. On the same day, HAC-ONC established temporary traffic regulation and excluded from traffic the roadway on which the subject shaft is located, as the damage was critical and posed a potential danger to traffic safety. Therefore, urgent repairs were initiated, preceded by preparation, and the actual repair work on the subject shaft began on March 22 (Tuesday), HAC responded to Hina’s inquiry.
