The Sveti Ilija Tunnel (; ) is a road tunnel through Biokovo mountain that connects the coastal and continental parts of the Split-Dalmatia County.
The tunnel is long, while the western, service tube is . Roadway is wide. Tunnel is carrying D76 state road. It passes through Biokovo between the Bast in the municipality of Baà ¡ka Voda (south side) and Rastovac in the municipality of Zagvozd (north side).
It is named after the peak of the same name under which it is located. It is the fourth longest tunnel in Croatia, but first in Europe by overburden of (height from tube to the ground) in Karst massif.
The construction of the tunnel started on March 25, 2008 from the north side. The tunnel was broken on January 21, 2010.Two companies participated in drilling: Hidroelektra niskogradnja from Zagreb, which were breaking the tunnel from the north side; and Konstruktor from Split, which were breaking the tunnel from the south side.
Not far from the tunnel in the area of Turija, during Napoleon's reign in 1809, a commemorative plaque was placed on the occasion of the completion of the construction of the road that stretched from Obrovac to Boka Kotorska, the so-called French Road. Two hundred years later, the tunnel was built as part of the modern road links between the Dalmatian hinterland and the coast.
The highest altitude of is approximately halfway through the tunnel.
It was opened on July 8, 2013. From 2018, tunnel is not tolled.
Comparison with other tunnels: