Brăila Bridge

Danube bridge in Romania

45°18′52″N 28°00′12″E / 45.31452°N 28.00337°E / 45.31452; 28.00337CarriesFour lanes of the DN2S national road, two sidewalks (intended for maintenance works only)^[1]CrossesDanubeLocaleBetween Brăila, Brăila County and Smârdan, Tulcea CountyOfficial nameSuspended Bridge over the Danube in Brăila AreaMaintained byRomanian National Company for Road Infrastructure Administration (C.N.A.I.R. S.A.)CharacteristicsDesignSuspension bridgeTotal length2,194.3 m (7,199 ft)Width31.7 m (104 ft)Height192.64 m (632.0 ft) (towers)^[2]Longest span1,120 m (3,670 ft)Clearance below38 metres (125 ft)Design life120 yearsHistoryDesignerAstaldi S.p.A. and IHI Infrastructure Systems Co., Ltd.Constructed byWebuild S.p.A. and IHI Infrastructure Systems Co., Ltd.Construction start19 December 2018Construction end2023Construction cost€500 millionOpened6 July 2023Location Map

The Brăila Bridge (Romanian: Podul peste Dunăre de la Brăila) is a road suspension bridge in Romania over the Danube river, between Brăila, a major city in eastern Romania, and the opposite bank of the river in Tulcea County, on the DN2S national road and European route E87.^[3] It is the first bridge over the maritime Danube sector and the fourth bridge over the Romanian section of the river. At nearly 2 km in length, it is the largest bridge over the Danube,^[4] and the third longest suspension bridge in the European Union.^[5] The bridge improves road traffic accessibility of the Galați-Brăila area to Constanța and Tulcea, and connections of the Moldavia and Muntenia regions with Dobruja. The European Union co-funded the project with €363 million from Cohesion Policy funds.^[4]

Construction

First studies for a bridge in the Lower Danube region were done in 1986, but the first prefeasibility study was conducted in 1996. The final feasibility study was finished in 2016 by ISPCF [ro] and Pegaso Ingegneria.^[6]

In 2017, the bridge project was awarded to the Astaldi (now Webuild) and IHI Infrastructure Systems association for an estimated cost of €434 million, and the construction works started in December 2018.^[7]^[8]^[9]

In May 2021, the construction of the two main pillars had finished, and preparations had been started to deploy the first cables across the bridge.^[10] On 20 August 2021, it was reported that the construction of the bridge is on schedule and that half of the bridge was already done.^[11]

The first of the 86 suspended segments of the roadway were installed in spring 2022, with the last one on 28 June 2022. The bridge was opened on 6 July 2023.^[12]

Specifications

The project consists of the construction of a suspension bridge of 1,974.30 m (6,477.4 ft) length with a 1,120 m (3,670 ft) main span, and two side spans of 489.65 m (1,606.5 ft) long on the Brăila bank of the river and 364.65 m (1,196.4 ft) long on the Tulcea bank of the river, two access viaducts of 110 m (360 ft) length on both sides (which bring the total length of the bridge to 2,194.3 m (7,199 ft)), and a connecting road with a total length of approximately 23 km (14 mi).^[13]

References

^ "9 întrebări și răspunsuri esențiale despre Podul de la Brăila: de la accesul interzis pentru pietoni și bicicliști, la culoarea aleasă, iluminat și lipsa unei căi ferate" (in Romanian). hotnews.ro. 30 July 2023.
^ "Azi se inaugurează politic podul suspendat de la Brăila, al treilea ca mărime din Europa" (in Romanian). ziaruldeiasi.ro. 6 July 2023.
^ "Program circulație pe podul suspendat peste Dunăre de la Brăila" (in Romanian). probr.ro. 7 July 2023.
^ ^a ^b "EU Cohesion Policy: Brăila bridge opens for circulation". ec.europa.eu. 6 July 2023.
^ "Cel mai lung pod din România şi al treilea din Europa va fi gata în 2023". www.antena3.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "Podul suspendat peste Dunare de la Braila – un proiect asteptat de peste 20 de ani – Proiecte Infrastructura – HotNews.ro". monitorizari.hotnews.ro (in Romanian). 19 April 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
^ "Italian-Japanese consortium to build EUR 430 mln Danube bridge". Romania Insider. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
^ "Așa va arăta podul peste Dunăre" (in Romanian). obiectivbr.ro. 20 July 2018.
^ "Începe construcția podului Tulcea – Brăila" (in Romanian). tulceanoastra.ro. 20 December 2018.
^ "Drulă, despre podul de la Brăila: Începe ridicarea platformei de lucru. Cablurile cântăresc 6.700 tone FOTO". adevarul.ro. 17 May 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
^ "Imagini impresionante. Podul suspendat peste Dunăre de la Brăila este deja gata pe jumătate". www.digi24.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 6 October 2021.
^ "Când va fi inaugurat Podul de la Brăila. Anunțul făcut de ministrul Transporturilor". www.digi24.ro (in Romanian). 21 April 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ Podul suspendat peste Dunare de la Braila – un proiect asteptat de peste 20 de ani (in Romanian)