Leaders of Hrvatske ceste (HC) and Viadukt stated on Thursday that the mainland-Čiovo bridge will be completed by October this year and dismissed media claims that the works would be delayed.
During a site visit, they reported that there were difficulties with the welding of part of the steel structure being built in Macedonia, but also rejected media information that this could jeopardize the planned completion deadline, October this year.
– The bridge will, as planned, be completed by mid-October, said the CEO of Hrvatske ceste Jurica Krleža. According to him, the steel structures from Macedonia have not yet been delivered, and once they arrive, assembly will follow.
The CEO of Viadukt Joško Mikulić emphasized that this is a minor technical problem. He stated that 120 workers are engaged at the construction site, and as parts of the future bridge are being produced at four other locations, a total of about 350 workers are involved. When asked how the issue of connecting the bridge to the land traffic route on the Čiovo side would be resolved, Jurica Krleža said that HC is ready to discuss this with local structures.
– We have the technical documentation and building permit, and we cannot change the construction of the access junction as this would create a problem in obtaining the occupancy permit, emphasizes Krleža.
He announced that in the next ten days, a contractor for the construction of access roads worth 48 million kuna will be selected. The value of the mainland-Čiovo bridge construction, according to the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, is about 207.9 million kuna, and it is co-financed by the European Union funds with 176.7 million kuna, but the construction could, says Krleža, cost less than 200 million kuna. It is important to meet the deadline for the completion of the bridge construction due to the withdrawal of funds from the EU funds, which cover 85 percent of the total construction costs. The construction of the bridge will enable better connectivity of the island of Čiovo with the mainland, improve the connection with Split Airport and nearby highway junctions, as well as resolve the issue of significant traffic congestion on the existing bridge, which threatens the protected historical core of Trogir.
