sentences:  As of October 2011, it was in the design development stage, while appropriate permits were expected to be issued in the summer of 2012.In 2003, the government also proposed to build a new route between the Učka Tunnel and the Matulji interchange in order to bypass the Opatija exit with its at-grade intersection, the only one of the route; the changes would also limit the longitudinal grade of the route to 4.9% and increase the design speed to .The new route is planned to intersect with the A7 motorway west of the Matulji interchange (where the A8 currently ends), in a proposed Matulji 2 interchange, with additional interchange (Frančići) planned between Veprinac and the new terminus.