[2] The route comprises a significant number of urban intersections, in segments of the road running through Duga Resa and Senj.

However, the first well documented road built along the route was Via Josephina named after Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor who commissioned its construction in 1775.

[9] Even though the incident is impossible to verify, the town of Josipdol to the east of the mountain pass is named after the Holy Roman Emperor.

[10] In 1775, Joseph II indeed commissioned construction of the route, exactly 100 km (62 mi) long, from Vinko Struppi, a military engineer, and the road, named after the Emperor, was completed in 1779.

Most remarkably the original road included a stone bridge across three spans in Tounj, which was expanded during the reconstruction of 1845 and now has two levels.