Landslides and flash floods that affected parts of the Central Bosnia and Herzegovina-Neretva cantons last week caused extensive damage to the region’s road infrastructure.

The Public Company Roads of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (JP Ceste FBiH) informed FENA that they have conducted damage assessments where physical access is possible. However, certain areas, such as the M17.5 road toward Blidinje, remain unreachable. For those sections, the only available information comes from drone footage capturing the extent of the damage.

Given the inaccessibility of some areas, the company noted that it is still too early to provide a full damage assessment or develop a precise plan for restoring the damaged infrastructure. Nevertheless, JP Ceste FBiH has already started urgent negotiations to prepare the necessary project documentation for emergency repairs and road restoration.

Several contractors are already engaged in emergency efforts, including repairs, cleaning, and restoring traffic on the M17 expressway from Konjic to Jablanica to Komadinovo Vrelo. This section of the M17 suffered multiple landslides, rockfalls, and large debris flows, damaging both the upper and lower road layers.

The most critical area is Donja Jablanica, where a massive amount of rocky debris fell on the settlement and main road, tragically resulting in fatalities.

While the M17 expressway on the Jablanica-Grabovica section has reopened for two-way traffic, safety measures remain in place, including speed restrictions and occasional traffic control via signalization. This concludes the emergency phase of repairs on the M17.

The search for missing persons along the main road continues, involving heavy machinery, rescuers, police officers, and civil protection teams. The decision to fully reopen the road will be made only once all safety conditions are met, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior, Civil Protection, and the Municipality of Jablanica, according to JP Ceste FBiH.