Croatia celebrates the official opening of Pelješac Bridge today. The new symbol of modern Croatia connects the Croatian mainland with the Pelješac Peninsula, from Komarna to Brijesta. It is a long-awaited road link between the southernmost part of Croatia with the rest of the country on the Adriatic coastal Motorway between Split and Dubrovnik. A 2404-meter long Pelješac Bridge, is a multi-span cable-stayed structure with an orthotropic steel deck. The width of the three-cell superstructure is 22,5 meters. The pylon heights above the sea level are up to 100 meters.
The spectacular opening ceremony began at 8:15 pm, with a live broadcast on Croatian national television. The highlight of the celebration was around 10 pm, when two super sports cars raced across it in the glow of fireworks and sound of the Anthem of Freedom. Below them, torches were lit on boats. Apart of local and foreign representatives, representatives of the contractors and designers of the bridge were invited to the opening.
»Looking at this breathtaking space, peace, beauty, morphology and structure, various ideas arose. The bridge had to cross the sea, and nature is so beautiful that it is difficult to compete with it. That's why we tried to approach it in a calm, unobtrusive way. The road, three small jumps, five bigger ones and three small ones again, and we're over. The triangular shapes on the bridge are reminiscent of the waves and hills of Pelješac. I am happy and grateful to have the opportunity to prepare the project and to participate in the construction of this truly beautiful, structurally inventive and much-needed bridge. Croatia is now connected in a truly distinctive way, with a structure that joins and creates bonds between people,« said Marjan Pipenbaher, partner and director of Ponting and Pipenbaher Consulting Engineers.
»Ideas about the bridge started already in 2003. In 2007, one bridge was already under construction, but the crisis stopped it. The feasibility study showed a bridge as the most optimal option for connecting Croatia, which was key in obtaining grants. For one of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe, estimated at 420 million euros at the time, they managed to obtain 85% of the grants.«
The Pelješac Bridge project was prepared by Joint Venture Pipenbaher Consulting Engineers, Ponting and University of Zagreb, Faculty of civil engineering.
The author of architectural and structural bridge concept and the Main Designer of the bridge is Marjan Pipenbaher. The client is Hrvatske Ceste d.o.o., and the contractor is China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).
Project details:
Pelješac Bridge
