Bubanj Potok is located on the highway Belgrade–Niš, in the valley of the same name, a section of the valley of the Bolečica river, where many smaller creeks, some of them intermittent, flow into the Bolečica: Bubanj Potok, Zavojnička reka, Vranovac, Kamena voda, Gleđevac, etc. East of the valley is Leštane, municipality of Grocka, while Beli Potok on the west, mountain Avala on the southwest and Zuce on the south, are in the municipality of Voždovac. The southernmost tip of Zvezdara municipality is just north of it.
Characteristics
Bubanj Potok is named after the creek of the same name and means "drum creek" in Serbian. It is a non-residential settlement which spawns around the crossroads of the highway and the Kružni put, the major road connecting the settlements on the southern outskirts of Belgrade. Major facilities in the settlement include:
Major interchange on the highway-Kružni put crossroads will be widened when the Belgrade beltway will be finished and this would be the switchpoint from the highway and beltway to the projected Vinča–Omoljica bridge.
Major changes, including the displacement of the toll houses which were synonymous for Bubanj Potok for decades, started in April 2016 when the construction of an IKEA store began. Over 2,300 piles were drilled deep into the ground, over of material was poured to fill the construction site, old roads have been displaced and the new access roads have been constructed, power lines were elevated to a higher level and of the Zavojnička reka have been regulated. The building, which should cover an area of, will use the green technologies: geothermal springs, solar panels, LED lights, electric cars' chargers and the work of art systems for the disposal of garbage and waste water purification. A special bus will connect the city with the store and the talks are in progress between IKEA and the Belgrade's city transportation company, GSP Belgrade, for the new public bus line. It will be the first IKEA store in Serbia and one of the largest in the region. As the store and the adjoining parking, with the 1,375 parking spots, will cover a lot of, while IKEA bought a neighboring lot of, too, future expansion is probable. The store was opened on 10 August 2017. It was announced that it will sell 9,500 products, of which only 2 will be actually made in Serbia: wooden cutting boards and rolling pins and the prices will correspond to those "in the region", though the average salaries in Serbia are lower. Ceremonial opening was attended by the President of SerbiaAleksandar Vučić, government ministers and the mayor of BelgradeSiniša Mali. A new public transportation bus line No. 70 was formed just for the store, as it is located outside of the urban area of Belgrade.
Toll Booths Bubanj Potok
Built in the 1970s, the toll boothsBubanj Potok, for decades marked the entrance into the Belgrade from the Niš direction. On 13 April 2017toll booth became defunct as the new one, Vrčin, further down toward Niš was open for traffic. The toll booths were completely demolished in August 2017.
Transportation
Bubanj Potok is known for its traffic importance. Apart from the existing large interchange on the highway, crossroad with the Kružni put and former toll booths, it is projected as the future crossroad of the Belgrade bypass and accompanying railroad, both of which would proceed directly from here to the future Vinča-Omoljica Bridge across the Danube, to Pančevo. As for the bypass itself, Bubanj Potok is the marking point between its two projected sections, Ostružnica-Bubanj Potok and Bubanj Potok-Vinča. The section from Ostružnica will be long and the Minister for transportation, Zorana Mihajlović announced that works will begin in August 2018, with a deadline in 2020. The final section, to Vinča, still has no set dates. A planned, "Bubanj Potok" tunnel is part of the project.
