Croatian highways have announced a new tender for the preparation of project documentation for a bridge over the Drava River and accompanying service facilities on the Osijek – Beli Manastir section of the A5 highway, writes glas-slavonije.hr.
This tender actually abandons the previous project developed by IGH and experts from the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Zagreb. Discussions between the government and relevant ministries with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which financed the construction of the highway through Hungary and has shown an open interest in financing the continuation of the construction of corridor 5C through Croatia, will continue in September. According to Glas Slavonije from well-informed sources, the discussions are progressing well, and the Ministry of Finance expects that an agreement on financing the Osijek-Beli Manastir section and the bridge over the Drava could be reached by the end of the year, which means that construction on the continuation of Slavonika could start as early as next summer. This tender seeks to reshape the central part of the bridge, which is expected to be a so-called suspension bridge in the future, similar to the famous Golden Gate in the USA.
The reason for abandoning the original project is not only visual but also functional. – By reshaping the central part of the bridge over the Drava, the structure above the river itself is changed in such a way that it is spanned by a single span, thus avoiding foundations in the riverbed. Given that the Drava River changes its course at this point, this also increases the safety of navigation on the river, said the Public Relations Department of HAC. Since the deadline for submitting applications for the new tender is relatively short (September 13), it is clear that the new project will most likely again be awarded to IGH, as the conditions in the tender can only be met by someone like the Institute of Civil Engineering. As explained by architects who were also involved in the first project, the cost of the bridge itself will most likely not exceed the original, so the bridge, which is almost the same length as the Pelješac Bridge, is expected to cost around 800 million kuna. It should be noted that the Pelješac Bridge will be three times more expensive than the Drava bridge due to its height and specific construction. Which one will be completed first will depend on the economic situation in Croatia, as well as negotiations with European investment banks that have shown interest in building the bridge over the Drava River, which the Croatian government did not include in its construction plans until 2013 due to austerity measures. (www.glas-slavonije.hr)
