evidence: Bypassing the Bosnian coastal town of Neum with a bridge connecting Croatia’s northern Dalmatian coast with the southern region of Dubrovnik–Neretva County was a dream for past Croatian governments. The Croatian-Bosnian borders of the Adriatic city of Neum, according to Foreign Policy’s Michael Dobbs, is "the world’s most ridiculous border," hence the necessity for Croatian infrastructure to bypass it. [...] Andrej Plenković's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) led a government-signed contract with Chinese companies in 2018 to build a bridge that would bypass Bosnia and Herzegovina's coast in the small coastal town of Neum. The bridge would avoid Bosnia's territory and link the Croatian coast. Despite Bosnia's opposition, Plenković presented the project as essential to Croatia's future and ambition to connect the European Union with Dubrovnik and the surrounding area. In reality, the bridge is strategically crucial to Croatia since it allows for the free flow of people and goods up and down the coast, obstructed by Bosnia's 12-kilometer coastline. [...] Tourists and locals eagerly awaited the bridge's completion. which will allow individuals to travel up and down the coast without needing to cross international borders. It also links important port cities in Dubrovnik-Neretva county with the rest of Croatia. Until the bridge becomes open for travel, tourists must wait at two border checkpoints between Bosnia and Croatia at Neum before entering or exiting Dubrovnik-Neretva country, which houses the famous UNESCO-protected Old Town of Dubrovnik. It is not uncommon for traffic jams to occur that leave tourists stranded for hours before entering Bosnia on their way to Dubrovnik.