САОБРАЋАЈНА МОДЕРНИЗАЦИЈА ЈУГА КРАЉЕВИНЕ СХС
THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS IN THE SOUTH OF THE KINGDOM OF THE SERBS, CROATS, AND SLOVENES

Summary/Abstract: The development of transport and communications conditions in the south was an economic issue, with important strategic, national, and political implications. Although the Ministry of Transport and Communications in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes had in two instances unwisely placed this problem practically at the bottom of the list of its priorities in this field, the improvement of the Vardar rail track proved urgent, just as the replacing of the narrow tracks along the adjoining trails with others of standard width represented an important economic investment. The province was interspersed with hardly traversable roads of extremely poor quality, which could accommodate only a small number of mostly military or postal vehicles. A considerable number of petrol stations and thousands of motor vehicles create the impression of this area’s impressive modernization in comparison to the other provinces. A political initiative was needed to open a civil air traffic route between Belgrade and Skoplje (1929), and establish the airport in Skoplje as an „international air harbor”. The development of postal and telegraph communications was revolutionary and in some areas even exceeded the needs of this still largely backward region. The much-increased frequency of postal communications may also create the illusion of social progress, when in fact it was mostly used as a means of communication for official state and military purposes.

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