The Pelješac bridge will be put into traffic on July 26

25.07.2022
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The Pelješac bridge will be officially opened for all traffic tomorrow, July 26, and the last preparations were being made these days. The final details of traffic signals were installed on the bridge and along the access roads, and the last part of the arrangement was landscaping. Before it will be possible to cross the bridge in the night hours of July 26, the ceremony of the official opening of the Pelješac bridge will be held in order to mark this historic moment with dignity.

All citizens who are able to follow the program of Croatian Radio and Television will be able to watch the opening on the First and Fourth programs at 8:05 p.m., where a special show with guests and direct inclusion of reporters from the opening location will be broadcast.

The cars that will be the first to cross the Pelješac bridge

There will be no shortage of exciting moments at the opening ceremony, so klapas from Ploče to Dubrovnik will sing, and around 500 boats, ships, hulls and other vessels are expected under the bridge. The first cars to cross the bridge will be Croatian-made cars – Rimac’s “Nevera” and the car of the three-time European champion, the “flying Konavljanin” Niko Pulić. During their crossing of the bridge, a spectacular fireworks display was announced.

Social networks have been debating for some time which of the two cars will be faster: “Nevera”, one of the most expensive cars in the world, or the car from Konavle. Some are on the side of “Nevera”, they point out that it is the fastest and that it will speed through the Pelješac bridge at least 200 kilometers per hour, while others praise the automotive experience of Niko Pulić. However, Pulić said that there won’t be any kind of race because these are two completely different cars and that this is a big day for the whole of Croatia and the emphasis will be on the actual opening of the bridge. “Nevera” will start from one side of the bridge, and the car of the famous Croatian motorist from the other. After this show program, the first to officially cross the bridge will be members of the first and fourth guard brigades, 40 of them on motorcycles, while there will be hundreds of boats under the bridge, including Neretva ships.

In addition to local people from Pelješac and Neretva, many guests from all over Croatia are expected at the opening of the Pelješac bridge, who will be able to walk on it only on the evening of the ceremonial opening, and to the first pylon. Neither pedestrians nor cyclists will be able to cross the bridge.

The position and importance of the bridge

The Pelješac bridge is located in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. It bridges the Maloston Bay between Komarna on the mainland and Brijesta on the Pelješac peninsula and thus achieves the continuity of the territory of the Republic of Croatia by road, interrupted by a narrow corridor through which Bosnia and Herzegovina reaches the sea near Neum. It was built as part of the project Road connection with southern Dalmatia.

The bridge is a suspension type, with a total length of 2404 m with six main columns and thirteen steel spans ranging from 72 to 285 meters in length, according to the design of Marjan Pipenbaher. With a height of 55 meters, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s request to ensure the smooth passage of ships to Neum was met. The depth of the sea under the bridge is an almost constant 27 meters, and due to the soil consisting of thick deposits of clay and silt, the entire bridge is based on a hundred meter long steel pipes with a diameter of two meters driven into the seabed. The location of the bridge is subject to strong winds and is located in a zone of significant seismic activity. The bridge is located in a sensitive ecological area of the Maloston Bay, which was declared a marine nature reserve in 1983, and is also protected by the Natura 2000 ecological network.

The completion of the bridge was long overdue, so it is not surprising that the citizens of the Republic of Croatia are extremely happy that they will finally experience the moment of its opening. It will be a great day for the whole of Croatia, but mostly for the residents of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, who will now be able to reach their destinations much more easily by car.

Your CTC Team, A. M.