A new Danube Bridge is being constructed over the River Danube between Bulgaria and Romania
A new bridge over the River Danube between Bulgaria and Romania is expected to benefit to the economies of both nations. Krasimir Krastanov reports
A new Danube bridge being constructed over the River Danube between Bulgaria and Romania is due for completion by 2012. The structure, known as Bulgaria’s second Danube bridge (the first connects Ruse, Bulgaria and Giurgiu, Romania), will also be an important connection between the two countries and will improve trade and transport links between them with a notable benefit to the economies of both nations.
It will also be of far wider value to transport and trade as it will reduce significantly the journey time between Germany and Turkey, as part of the European transport corridor will effectively connect Dresden in Germany, with Turkey’s commercial centre, Istanbul.
The bridge, which has faced delays, will link the towns of Vidin in north-west Bulgaria and with Calafat in Romania, and is part of Pan-European Corridor 4 and is essential for all south-eastern transport axis of Europe and the Trans-European Networks with its opportunities for combined transport and transfer of certain traffic volumes from road to rail.
The bridge will be 1,971m long, with two road lanes in both directions and a single electrified railway line as well as a special bicycle lane.
Originally, the European Commission (EC) planned the bridge with one lane in each direction and a railroad was not envisaged, but Bulgaria managed to convince Brussels (the Belgian headquarters of the EC) that the bridge had to be built with the four lanes and railway line, a process that took three years.
Associated infrastructure works include construction of a new freight railway station and 7km of new railway line; reconstruction of the existing passenger station and construction of four road junctions on two levels as well as a transportation centre and 24.6km of new railway track for high-speed international trains.
The initial budget set only for Bulgaria was €225 million as 70% of the funds will be financed by the1054 European Investment Bank (EIB), European Union (EU) and 1117 German development bank KFW. Funds were provided by 1118 ISPA (Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession) as pre-accession aid to Bulgaria [both Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in January, 2007].
Up to 31 October, 2010, the disbursed funds amounted to €107.7 million and the value of the contracts was e181 million.
The tender for a general contractor for designing and construction of the bridge, held at the end of 2006, was won by the Spanish company FCC Construcción, and the contract for its implementation was signed on 30 January, 2007 with construction officially starting on 13 May, 2007 in Vidin, and at present 975 people are employed on the bridge construction project.
The original completion date was scheduled for 31 October, 2010 but this was postponed to April, 2011, and then until the end of 2011. The finishing works are expected in 2012 as well as the joint procedures with Romania regarding the acceptance and commissioning of the object.
For completion of the project, the EC allowed the extension of the programme to the end of 2011 otherwise both countries will lose funding and will need to recover large amounts.
It is understood that talks between FCC the1119 Transport Ministry of Bulgaria and the Coordination of Programmes and Projects Directorate over additional payments are ongoing.
In Romania, some 8km of roads, 3km of highways and 3.5km of railways are planned with their construction delayed because of court appeals over the selection of contractors.
The Romanian Minister of Transport recently said that the infrastructure for access to the bridge from the other bank of the River Danube will be ready by mid-2011, and this is the section of the project paid for by Romania. Bulgaria should pay for the bridge itself.
Construction of roads and the railway line in Romania is financed with €57 million from the EU and €12 million from the state, and according to the project manager, from Bulgarian side, the bridge will be ready in December 2011.
According to representatives of FCC (January, 2011), up to now 60% of the activities on the bridge and about 35% of the construction of infrastructure have been completed.
Construction of Danube Bridge 2 has involved earthworks of some 1 million m³ to build embankments for all approach roads to the bridge and other associated infrastructure projects.
These include the rail line and connection between the existing road and the bridge, with the existing rail tracks having been replaced; passenger and freight stations established, and seven new rail and passenger overpasses being constructed.
On 16 November, 2010, assembly of the last segment of the superstructure of Danube Bridge Vidin-Calafat in the non-navigable channel of the river was completed from the first to the eighth pier. The total number of the assembled concrete segments is 292, and each was produced according to individual parameters in the1340 FCC Construcción’s production plant near the site. The length of the superstructure in this part of the river is 650m.
At present, the slab in the un-navigable channel of the Danube is being formed, and this will involve a total of nine sections. The first had been implemented, and elements for the other sections of the bridge were ready or being formed.
Cantilever wings are being constructed on both sides of the deck of the superstructure with the help of self-moving cantilever installation.
By late November, 2010, the construction of pier 9 in the navigable channel of the river, being constructed by the FCC Construcción,1120 Terratest, 1123 BBR PTE, 298 PERI, 1124 Armatek and 1125 ALCOR, was completed.
The 38.68m high pier has 24 piles in its foundation at a depth from 68-80m, with 1,076tonnes of reinforcement and 6,277m³ of concrete being used in the construction.
The pile cap, built in the form of a truncated pyramid over the piles, is 6m high and was constructed using 458tonnes of reinforcement and 2,400m³ of concrete.
The pier erected over the pile cap, on which the segments of the superstructure are laid in the navigable channel is 11.5m high.
In the upper part of the pier PB9, two 27.18m high pylons have been built using 63tonnes of reinforcement and 332m³ of concrete.
A total of 19 pairs of ship impact protections will be mounted at the site, each weighing from 80-120tonnes.
Work in the navigable channel of the Danube is being carried out using barges, which transport all the necessary materials and machines, and apart from pier PB9, there are four further piers at different stages of construction. The span between them is 180m and their height will allow all types of ships to pass under the bridge.
At the time of writing over 60% of the construction on the bridge has been completed, and over 50% of the auxiliary infrastructure facilities, including a 600m long road junction near Vidin, has already been built.
A total of eight highway and railroad overpasses, part of the adjoining infrastructure for the bridge, have also been completed FCC Construcción and sub-contractors Terratest and Armatek.
Four of the overpasses are for roads (Highway E79) and four are for the railway, and they have a total length of over 1,000m and an area of 7,969m². The concrete used for the constructions is 11,629m³ while the reinforcement weighs 1,365tonnes.
Two types of piles have been used for the foundation of the overpasses: 112 cast in situ piles at a maximum depth of 26m and 976 driven piles with lengths varying from 8-13m.
Finishing works will include the construction of pavement blocks, parapets, railings, waterproofing and asphalt work.
Completion of most of the bridge structure is expected by the end of 2011 and will be followed by the laying of railway tracks and asphalting the bridge deck.
A new Danube bridge being constructed over the River Danube between Bulgaria and Romania is due for completion by 2012. The structure, known as Bulgaria’s second Danube bridge (the first connects Ruse, Bulgaria and Giurgiu, Romania), will also be an important connection between the two countries and will improve trade and transport links between them with a notable benefit to the economies of both nations.
It will also be of far wider value to transport and trade as it will reduce significantly the journey time between Germany and Turkey, as part of the European transport corridor will effectively connect Dresden in Germany, with Turkey’s commercial centre, Istanbul.
The bridge, which has faced delays, will link the towns of Vidin in north-west Bulgaria and with Calafat in Romania, and is part of Pan-European Corridor 4 and is essential for all south-eastern transport axis of Europe and the Trans-European Networks with its opportunities for combined transport and transfer of certain traffic volumes from road to rail.
The bridge will be 1,971m long, with two road lanes in both directions and a single electrified railway line as well as a special bicycle lane.
Originally, the European Commission (EC) planned the bridge with one lane in each direction and a railroad was not envisaged, but Bulgaria managed to convince Brussels (the Belgian headquarters of the EC) that the bridge had to be built with the four lanes and railway line, a process that took three years.
Associated infrastructure works include construction of a new freight railway station and 7km of new railway line; reconstruction of the existing passenger station and construction of four road junctions on two levels as well as a transportation centre and 24.6km of new railway track for high-speed international trains.
The initial budget set only for Bulgaria was €225 million as 70% of the funds will be financed by the
Up to 31 October, 2010, the disbursed funds amounted to €107.7 million and the value of the contracts was e181 million.
The tender for a general contractor for designing and construction of the bridge, held at the end of 2006, was won by the Spanish company FCC Construcción, and the contract for its implementation was signed on 30 January, 2007 with construction officially starting on 13 May, 2007 in Vidin, and at present 975 people are employed on the bridge construction project.
The original completion date was scheduled for 31 October, 2010 but this was postponed to April, 2011, and then until the end of 2011. The finishing works are expected in 2012 as well as the joint procedures with Romania regarding the acceptance and commissioning of the object.
For completion of the project, the EC allowed the extension of the programme to the end of 2011 otherwise both countries will lose funding and will need to recover large amounts.
It is understood that talks between FCC the
In Romania, some 8km of roads, 3km of highways and 3.5km of railways are planned with their construction delayed because of court appeals over the selection of contractors.
The Romanian Minister of Transport recently said that the infrastructure for access to the bridge from the other bank of the River Danube will be ready by mid-2011, and this is the section of the project paid for by Romania. Bulgaria should pay for the bridge itself.
Construction of roads and the railway line in Romania is financed with €57 million from the EU and €12 million from the state, and according to the project manager, from Bulgarian side, the bridge will be ready in December 2011.
According to representatives of FCC (January, 2011), up to now 60% of the activities on the bridge and about 35% of the construction of infrastructure have been completed.
Construction of Danube Bridge 2 has involved earthworks of some 1 million m³ to build embankments for all approach roads to the bridge and other associated infrastructure projects.
These include the rail line and connection between the existing road and the bridge, with the existing rail tracks having been replaced; passenger and freight stations established, and seven new rail and passenger overpasses being constructed.
On 16 November, 2010, assembly of the last segment of the superstructure of Danube Bridge Vidin-Calafat in the non-navigable channel of the river was completed from the first to the eighth pier. The total number of the assembled concrete segments is 292, and each was produced according to individual parameters in the
At present, the slab in the un-navigable channel of the Danube is being formed, and this will involve a total of nine sections. The first had been implemented, and elements for the other sections of the bridge were ready or being formed.
Cantilever wings are being constructed on both sides of the deck of the superstructure with the help of self-moving cantilever installation.
By late November, 2010, the construction of pier 9 in the navigable channel of the river, being constructed by the FCC Construcción,
The 38.68m high pier has 24 piles in its foundation at a depth from 68-80m, with 1,076tonnes of reinforcement and 6,277m³ of concrete being used in the construction.
The pile cap, built in the form of a truncated pyramid over the piles, is 6m high and was constructed using 458tonnes of reinforcement and 2,400m³ of concrete.
The pier erected over the pile cap, on which the segments of the superstructure are laid in the navigable channel is 11.5m high.
In the upper part of the pier PB9, two 27.18m high pylons have been built using 63tonnes of reinforcement and 332m³ of concrete.
A total of 19 pairs of ship impact protections will be mounted at the site, each weighing from 80-120tonnes.
Work in the navigable channel of the Danube is being carried out using barges, which transport all the necessary materials and machines, and apart from pier PB9, there are four further piers at different stages of construction. The span between them is 180m and their height will allow all types of ships to pass under the bridge.
At the time of writing over 60% of the construction on the bridge has been completed, and over 50% of the auxiliary infrastructure facilities, including a 600m long road junction near Vidin, has already been built.
A total of eight highway and railroad overpasses, part of the adjoining infrastructure for the bridge, have also been completed FCC Construcción and sub-contractors Terratest and Armatek.
Four of the overpasses are for roads (Highway E79) and four are for the railway, and they have a total length of over 1,000m and an area of 7,969m². The concrete used for the constructions is 11,629m³ while the reinforcement weighs 1,365tonnes.
Two types of piles have been used for the foundation of the overpasses: 112 cast in situ piles at a maximum depth of 26m and 976 driven piles with lengths varying from 8-13m.
Finishing works will include the construction of pavement blocks, parapets, railings, waterproofing and asphalt work.
Completion of most of the bridge structure is expected by the end of 2011 and will be followed by the laying of railway tracks and asphalting the bridge deck.
