Connected Pelješac Bridge

With the raising of the last, 165th segment of the steel span structure, the Pelješac Bridge was completely connected on Thursday and stretches from Komarna on the mainland to Brijeste on Pelješac.

The bridge has 13 spans, of which five are main spans measuring 285 meters in length, six centrally positioned reinforced concrete pillars standing 33 meters tall, and two lanes along with a stopping lane that will be used for bridge maintenance.

The last element placed this evening is 18 meters long, and the symbolic placement was completed by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Minister of Transport Oleg Butković, Dubrovnik-Neretva County Prefect Nikola Dobroslavić, and the CEO of Hrvatske ceste Josip Škorić.

The connection was also witnessed by numerous citizens from the mainland and a multitude of boats, skiffs, and other vessels.

The length of the bridge from axis to axis of the abutments is 2,404 meters, the total length of the bridge with abutments is 2,440 meters, and the navigational profile under the bridge is 200 by 55 meters.

The chief and responsible designer of the Pelješac Bridge is Marjan Pipenbaher.

The bridge was built by the Chinese consortium China Road and Bridge Corporation. The Chinese won the contract in a tender in 2018, offering 2.081 billion kuna excluding VAT, with a completion deadline of 36 months.

Construction officially began on July 31, 2018, when the contractor was introduced to the works.

The bridge, along with access roads, is expected to be opened to traffic in June 2022, before the start of the main tourist season.

The government made the decision to finance the construction of the bridge in 2017.

In May 2013, a study commissioned by the European Commission showed that the Pelješac Bridge is the best solution to connect the south of Croatia with the rest of the country.

The Pelješac Bridge is the first of a total of four phases of the project “Road Connectivity with Southern Dalmatia” for which the European Commission approved 357 million euros in non-repayable funds or 85 percent of eligible costs.

Namely, the total value of the project is 526 million euros including VAT, and the value of eligible costs is 420 million euros, of which 85 percent is co-financed by European Union funds, amounting to 357 million euros.

The European Union also finances accompanying infrastructure: access roads, tunnels, additional bridges and viaducts, as well as the bypass of Ston.