Cukarica and New Belgrade joined across the Sava - Bridge at Ada Ciganlija connected, project completion in 2013

(Bridge at Ada)

The Cukarica side and the New Belgrade side of the bridge at Ada Ciganlija were joined on Monday when the last segment of the steel structure was put in place. In that way, the capital city got a new bridge after 32 months of works. The bridge will be open to traffic as of December 15th, until when certain access roads will have been finished as well.

Cars from New Belgrade will then be able to cross this concrete colossus and come to the other bank of the Sava. The complete project - the cloverleaf interchange Radnicka on the Cukarica bank and Jurija Gagarina cloverleaf interchange on the New Belgrade bank, as well as all remaining access roads, will be finished in 2013.

The bridge at Ada Ciganlija is the first bridge built in Belgrade in 40 years. The works on this bridge commenced on December 1st, 2008. Once the bridge is open to traffic, it will take people only few minutes to cross the river, which is half an hour less than it takes them now. Traffic across the current bridges and in Vojvode Misica Boulevard is expected to be reduced by about 40 percent following the opening of the new bridge.

(Ceremonious connecting of the bridge)

Authors of the preliminary design of the bridge are constructor Viktor Markelj, co-owner of Maribor-based Ponting, and architect Peter Gabrijelcic, long-time dean of the Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana.

- Almost all construction works on the bridge are finished, but much work still needs to be done on new traffic platforms, fences, lighting, and construction of access roads. These are serious works, but not that complicated as the bridge construction was – said Gabrijelcic.

In order for this colossus on the Sava to be made, it was necessary to build a pylon and three spans - the back span (on the Cukarica side, 200 meters long), the side span (on the New Belgrade bank, 338 meters long), and the main steel span between them. It is so far the longest single-pylon cable-stayed bridge in the world. Only one pylon 200 meters high will keep in place this 964-meter bridge, of which upper part of the main span weighs 8.600 tonnes. The job is entrusted to Austria's Porr, which is the main contractor.

(photos of the future look of Radnicka cloverleaf interchange are published on the website beobuild.rs)

Construction of four ramps at both ends of the bridge is in progress as well. The first of these ramps, the one towards Radnicka street, is almost finished. What is also underway is the construction of the first phase of Radnicka cloverleaf interchange, that is, its third level that should connect the bridge and Hipodrom cloverleaf interchange. The intersection at Careva Cuprija was completed in late 2010. The road workers have also started building Jurija Gagarina cloverleaf interchange on the New Belgrade side. Construction of a new boulevard heading to Bezanijska Kosa is also in the pipeline. All these works should be finished in 2013.

- Works on access roads go as planned, the same as all other large projects backed by the city of Belgrade. The bridge will be fully open to traffic and at the disposal of the citizens of Belgrade in 2013 - said Chairman of the Belgrade Assembly Aleksandar Antic.

Martin Stajkuler, head of the building site and an engineer at Porr, said that much work was left to be done because the bridge must be prepared for traffic by the year's end.

- This project is highly complex. Our biggest motivation is to see in the end what we have built. This is not the first bridge I am working on, but it is definitely the largest and the most challenging project – said Stajkuler.

For the construction of this giant bridge the city of Belgrade took out a loan from the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, while part of the funds was also provided from the budget. The total value of works is EUR 118.6 million.

The new bridge at Ada Ciganlija will increase the capacities of both local and transit traffic network. It is 45 meters wide and has six traffic lanes, two light rail tracks and two paths for pedestrians and cyclists. Its maximum capacity will be 12,000 vehicles per hour. By driving across the new bridge instead of through the center of Belgrade, people will save 11 tonnes of fuel a day, thus significantly reducing their negative impact on the environment as well.

(Boris Tadic was the first to cross the new bridge)

The bridge was ceremoniously connected in the presence of Serbian President Boris Tadic, Belgrade Mayor Dragan Djilas, SANU President Nikola Hajdin, builders and numerous journalists.

- I would like this bridge to connect citizens and make us all proud. Every bridge ever built in Belgrade was meant for some future times. This one is also for the future generations – said Mayor Dragan Djilas.

President Tadic said that the bridge at Ada was mainly associated with former mayor Nenad Bogdanovic and former prime minister Zoran Djindjic.

- I would be the happiest man alive if the bridge was named after them, but it is up to citizens to decide. I have only given my suggestion - said Tadic.

Representatives of the authorities expressed their gratitude to the builders who worked on the bridge at "plus 40 and minus 10 degrees Celsius" and invited all citizens to take a walk on the new bridge the next weekend.

M.S.