Pelješac Bridge

About

The Pelješac Bridge (Croatian: Pelješki most, pronounced [pěʎeʃkiː môːst]) is a cable-stayed bridge in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Croatia. The bridge provides a fixed link from the southeastern Croatian semi-exclave to the rest of the country while bypassing Bosnia and Herzegovina's short coastal strip at Neum. The bridge spans the sea channel between Komarna on the northern mainland and the peninsula of Pelješac, thereby passing entirely through Croatian territory and avoiding any border crossings with Bosnia and Herzegovina at Neum. Construction started on 30 July 2018, and the bridge was connected on 28 July 2021. The bridge and its access roads opened for traffic on 26 July 2022. Ston bypass road was opened on 19 April 2023, allowing buses, heavy trucks, and trucks carrying hazardous loads to access the bridge.

The original 2007 design for the bridge had a main span of 568 metres (1,864 ft). This design was modified, and the bridge was built as a multi-span cable-stayed bridge with a total length of 2,404 metres (7,887 ft). It comprises thirteen spans, of which seven are cable-stayed; five central 285-metre (935 ft) spans and two outer 203.5-metre (668 ft) spans. Two pylons around the 200-metre (660 ft) x 55-metre (180 ft) navigation channel are 98 metres (322 ft) above sea level and 222 metres (728 ft) above the seabed. The bridge was designed by Slovenian engineer Marjan Pipenbaher.

Both sides of the bridge are served by access roads, including two tunnels on Pelješac (one 2,467 metres (8,090 ft) and the other 499 metres (1,640 ft) long), as well as two smaller bridges on Pelješac, (one 420 metres (1,400 ft) and another 131 metres (430 ft) long).

Because the Croatian mainland is intersected by a small strip of the coast around the town of Neum which is part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, forming Bosnia and Herzegovina's only outlet to the Adriatic Sea, the physical connection of the southernmost part of Dalmatia with the rest of Croatia is limited to Croatian territorial waters. In 1996, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia signed the Neum Agreement, granting Croatia passage through Neum, but the agreement was never ratified. All traffic passing through the Neum corridor has to undergo border checks on goods and persons. Therefore, people travelling from the Dubrovnik exclave to mainland Croatia had to pass through two border checks within 9 kilometres (5.6 mi). With Croatia joining the Schengen Area in 2023 (which it was bound to do in accordance with the conditions of its accession to the European Union ), checks would become considerably more stringent and time-consuming, as the Schengen Borders Code requires checks not only when entering the Schengen area, but also when exiting it. Thus, someone travelling from Dubrovnik to mainland Croatia through Neum would undergo three distinct border checks: a Croatian (Schengen) exit check, a Bosnian-Herzegovinian entry check and a Croatian (Schengen) entry check. [ citation needed ]

The construction of the bridge was publicly proposed in 1997 by Ivan Šprlje, the Prefect of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) initially rejected the idea, but in 1998 it gained support of their MP Luka Bebić. In 2000, the bridge was added to the spatial plan of the county and the first construction plans were drawn up.

The construction works on the Pelješac project officially commenced in November 2005 with a grand opening led by then- Prime Minister Ivo Sanader. Despite the price of the bridge project rising significantly compared to the initial estimate, the Government persisted with the idea of a bridge. The initial design was changed to reflect the concerns of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the first plans. The two sides agreed on the construction of the bridge in early December 2006.

In May 2007, the Croatian Minister of Infrastructure Božidar Kalmeta said that preparations for the construction of the bridge were going according to plan and that an initial tender was under preparation. Kalmeta added that the question of when the construction works would begin depended on whether a constructor would be selected in the first round. On 11 June 2007, Hrvatske ceste announced a public tender for the construction of the bridge. On 28 August 2007, the list of bidders was released: Konstruktor, Viadukt and Hidroelektra (from Croatia); Dywidag (Germany), Strabag (Austria), Cimolai [ it ] (Italy), Eiffel (France); and Alpine Bau (from Salzburg, Austria)

Kalmeta confirmed construction works were to start in autumn 2007. The contractor was to be obliged to complete the project in four years. Construction costs were estimated at 1.9 billion HRK, nearly € 260 million. It would be financed by Hrvatske ceste and by loans by European investment banks.

In June 2007, after the tender was published, the media reported renewed opposition from the State Border Commission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina declared that it would sue Croatia if it started building the bridge unilaterally.

On 14 September 2007, the Ministry of Construction announced that the Konstruktor/Viadukt/Hidroelektra consortium had won the contest and that it would sign a contract for 1.94 billion HRK, roughly € 265 million at the time. Construction works on the northern and southern termini commenced on 24 October 2007, with sea works starting in the autumn of 2008.

In July 2009, the Croatian Government under Jadranka Kosor announced that, as part of the effort to reduce expenses during the economic crisis, the construction of the Pelješac Bridge was to proceed under a much slower timetable than originally planned. In November 2009, Kalmeta mentioned 2015 as the year of completion. The 2010 budget and road-building programme indicated that by the end of 2012, only 433.5 million HRK or € 60 million would be invested in the bridge, which is less than a quarter of the total.

After the 2011 Croatian parliamentary election, the new SDP-led government terminated the existing construction contract worth 1.94 billion HRK ( c. € 259 million) for lack of funds in May 2012. At the same time, plans were made to use the bridge construction sites as new ferry docking sites. There was also discussion regarding how the cost and speed of the ferry solution would compare to that of the cancelled bridge, with the Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure claiming the ferrying would be less expensive and reasonably fast, as well as complete by 1 July 2013, which is when Croatia joined the European Union and when the new border regime could have become a problem.

In 2012, the European Union granted Croatia a sum of € 200,000 for a pre-feasibility study of the construction of the Pelješac Bridge. The study would examine not only the projected bridge, but also the solution of a closed road corridor across the hinterland of Neum. "The strategic aim of the Government is to effectively connect the territory of Croatia, which is also a goal of the EU, because the Croatian territory is to become a territory of the Union. This project should not be politicized, but rather we should see which action is most cost-effective", Minister of Foreign Affairs Vesna Pusić claimed. She also emphasized that the ratification of the Tuđman - Izetbegović treaty of 1996 ( Neum Agreement ) was not a condition to receive European funds for the construction of the bridge, but it would be no harm if it did happen.

The feasibility study prepared by Croatia to analyse the possible alternatives concluded that building a bridge would be the most favourable option as it scored highest in the multi-criteria (safety, impact on traffic, environmental impact) and cost-benefit analysis, compared to the other options; a highway corridor, a ferry connection or the construction of tunnels. The project was prepared in consultation with the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The necessity to preserve Croatia's natural heritage was an essential criteria taken into consideration at all phases of the project's preparation.

The European Commission also had the project assessed before adoption independent experts in the framework of the Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions (JASPERS) as regards its feasibility and economic viability.

A French study suggested in December 2013 that the bridge is the most feasible solution, and Croatian Minister of Transport Siniša Hajdaš Dončić stated that the construction of the bridge would start in 2015. In July 2015, Croatia's government said that construction was likely to start in spring 2016.

By 2016, the Croatian government was saying construction would go ahead with or without EU funds. Construction dates were further delayed by a formal complaint about tender documents.

The European Commission announced on 7 June 2017 that € 357 million from Cohesion Policy funds will be made available for the bridge and the supporting infrastructure (tunnels, bypasses, viaducts and access roads), with completion scheduled for 2022. The EU contribution would amount to 85% of the total construction costs, aiming at benefiting tourism, trade, and territorial cohesion.

Despite protests from Bosnian political actors, Croatian Minister of Regional Development Gabrijela Žalac as well as Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković confirmed that the construction of the bridge would continue.

On 15 September 2017, it was announced that China Road and Bridge Corporation, Austrian Strabag and Italian-Turkish consortium Astaldi /Içtas applied for a bridge construction tender. The Austrians offered the cost of 2.6 billion HRK ( €351 million ), the Italian-Turkish offer was 2.6 billion HRK ( €341 million ), while the Chinese offer was 2.1 billion HRK ( €278 million ). On 15 January 2018, Hrvatske ceste made a formal decision according to which China Road and Bridge Corporation won the tender. In addition to the lowest price, CRBC also offered to complete the project six months faster than required. Construction had started by mid 2019, with the construction of the bridge pillars in October.