Brăila Bridge

The Brăila Bridge is a road suspension bridge under construction in Romania over the Danube river, between Brăila, a major city in eastern Romania, and the opposite bank of the river in Tulcea County. It will be 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 will be one of the longest suspension bridge in Europe. The bridge will improve road traffic accessibility of the Galați-Brăila area to Constanța and Tulcea, and connections of the Moldavia and Muntenia regions with Dobruja.

Brăila Bridge
Bridge photographed in September 2022
Coordinates45°18′52″N 28°00′12″E
CarriesFour lanes of the planned expressway Dobrogea Expres (DX8), two combined bicycle path/pedestrian walkways
CrossesDanube
LocaleBetween Brăila, Brăila County and Smârdan, Tulcea County
Official nameSuspended Bridge over the Danube in Brăila Area
Maintained byRomanian National Company for Road Infrastructure Administration (C.N.A.I.R. S.A.)
Characteristics
DesignSuspension bridge
Total length2,194.3 m (7,199 ft)
Width31.7 m (104 ft)
Height192 m (630 ft) (towers)
Longest span1,120 m (3,670 ft)
Clearance below38 metres (125 ft)
History
DesignerAstaldi S.p.A. and IHI Infrastructure Systems Co., Ltd.
Constructed byWebuild S.p.A. and IHI Infrastructure Systems Co., Ltd.
Construction start2018
Construction end2023 (planned)
Location

Construction

The Brăila Bridge under construction, August 2021

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 and Pegaso Ingegneria.[1]

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.[2][3][4]

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.[5] 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.[6]

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 is expected to be opened in 2023.[7]

Specifications

The Brăila suspension bridge and the connecting road project

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 will add to the length of the suspended bridge), and a connecting road with a total length of approximately 23 km (14 mi).[8]

See also

References


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