At the moment any Croatians hoping to drive south to the popular seaside city of Dubrovnik first have to pass through a 14km (8.7 mile) stretch of coast belonging to neighbouring Bosnia. Once completed, the new bridge will take cars from the mainland across a sliver of the Adriatic Sea to the Peljesac peninsula, the Balkan Insight website reports . Croatia's government says construction is likely to start in spring 2016, at a total cost of 380m euros ($417m; £267m). "Above all there is this desire to connect Croatia so that one no longer has to travel to and from Dubrovnik through the territory of another state," says Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic