The Adriatic-Ionian corridor stretches along the coast, in the direction that connects northern Italy with Greece, and defines the backbone of the entire Croatian transport network in which the A1 Zagreb-Split-Dubrovnik highway plays a key role as a fundamental link between Croatia's north and south. Consequently, the main purpose of this paper is to provide a short overview of Croatia's transport strategy in regard with the A1 Zagreb-Split-Dubrovnik highway, which is recognized as the strategic prerequisite for state development, economic growth and connection to the European transport network. The explored road infrastructure is of state interest, and the whole process from design, construction to management is subject to verification by the competent state bodies, which ensures the fulfillment of the public interest. This paper presents the strategic guidelines for road traffic development in relation to the highway. Due to the lack of classical scientific literature and available public but obsolete information, the institutional strategic frameworks and plans developed for the development of Croatia's transport infrastructure were the most widely used literature in this graduate work.