New bridges for Belgrade

Work is now underway in Serbia to build a new bridge over the Danube River. The Zemun-Borca crossing is one of the most important projects for Serbia's capital Belgrade at present. The permits for the work have been issued and the necessary clearance work for the access road to the 1.5m bridge has already been carried out. The project is estimated to be worth some €170 million in all and is due for completion in 2014. The work also includes the construction of a system of access roads with a total distance of 21-27km to link the new bridge to existing infrastructure. A Chinese firm, CRBC, has been involved in the early stages of the project. On a less positive note however work on the Gazela Bridge in Belgrade has hit an obstacle. The rebuilding work was being carried out by Putevi Srbije and being part financed by loans from the 1054 European Investment Bank (EIB). The EIB has already provided some ?33 million for the work but has said it will not provide further funding. Putevi Srbije will now have to look to other sources such as domestic bank loans to source the remaining ?30 million needed to complete the work by its planned date of February 2012. But work on the Ada Bridge in Belgrade should be completed by August 2011 however. The bridge spans the Ada River and will carry road and rail traffic. It will be 964m long and will feature three lanes of traffic in either direction as well as two rail lines. Provision has also been made for two pedestrian/cycle lanes.