The motorway's national significance is reflected in its positive economic impact on the cities and towns it connects, as well as its importance to tourism in Croatia.

The importance of the motorway for tourism is particularly high during the summer tourist season, when its traffic volume increases by about 65%.

The construction of the A8 motorway and the Istrian Y can be traced back to 1968 when the Croatian Parliament decided to build a modern road linking Istria with the rest of Croatia.

The construction work started in 1976; in 1981 the Učka Tunnel was finished and a 22.6-kilometre (14.0 mi) section of the route between Matulji and Lupoglav was completed as a single-carriageway, two-lane expressway.

Construction slowed in the 1990s due to a lack of funding; therefore, a build-operate-transfer concession for the Istrian Y was granted to the BINA Istra corporation for a period of 32 years.

[6] The final segment of the route – between the Učka tunnel and the Matulji interchange – has a design speed of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph) because of the mountainous terrain crossed and proximity of residential structures.

[7] The route originates in the Kanfanar interchange with the A9 motorway and the D303 road in central Istria, east of Rovinj.

[8] Beyond the Rogovići interchange, the A8 changes direction once again, running generally to the northeast; it acts as a bypass around Pazin.

[13] The elevation of the route's 11.4-kilometre (7.1 mi) segment east of the tunnel drops from 520 metres (1,710 feet) above sea level at the eastern portal of the Učka Tunnel to approximately 180 metres (590 feet) above sea level adjacent to the Matulji interchange.

The final section of the route, near Opatija and the A7 motorway, runs through coastal areas affected by urbanization.

The system uses variable-message signs to communicate changing driving conditions, possible restrictions, and other information to motorway users.

BINA Istra estimates the total investment value of the construction it has carried out or planned on the A8 and A9 routes at one billion euros.

The build-operate-transfer concession agreement mandated construction, maintenance and management of the route and its upgrade to motorway standards; this requirement included the building of dual carriageways when the annual average daily traffic (AADT) reached 10,000 vehicles per day or when the average summer daily traffic (ASDT) reached 16,000 vehicles per day.

The expansion of the A8 was initially limited to the Kanfanar–Rogovići section because the remainder of the route required additional permits and consequently an extended preparation period.

[8][32] The construction performed along the section entailed deep and long cuts requiring temporary traffic stoppages due to explosive blasting.

[33][31] The construction of the full profile of the highway from Rogović to the Učka Tunnel started on 15 November 2018, in the length of 28 kilometers, the investment is worth 1.2 billion kuna without VAT.

A total of thirty-one buildings with a length of 2,510 meters were built, twelve viaducts, sixteen underpasses and three overpasses instead of the existing three that will be demolished.

In addition, several retaining walls and auxiliary facilities were built, and corrections were made to the route of the existing road at three locations.

The construction site created about a thousand new jobs, and 90 percent of the work was performed by Croatian companies.

Traffic levels are regularly determined and reported by BINA Istra, operator of the motorway, and published by Hrvatske ceste.

The largest AADT volume was recorded in the Učka Tunnel; it represents the only high-performance link between Istria and the rest of the Croatian motorway network.

[39] BINA Istra expects the motorways it manages to carry more than 20,000 vehicles per day during the peak tourist season periods.

The service area filling stations frequently have small convenience stores, and some of them offer LPG fuel.