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 | |
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![]() Bridge photographed in September 2022 | |
Coordinates | 45°18′52″N 28°00′12″E |
Carries | Four lanes of the planned expressway Dobrogea Expres (DX8), two combined bicycle path/pedestrian walkways |
Crosses | Danube |
Locale | Between Brăila, Brăila County and Smârdan, Tulcea County |
Official name | Suspended Bridge over the Danube in Brăila Area |
Maintained by | Romanian National Company for Road Infrastructure Administration (C.N.A.I.R. S.A.) |
Characteristics | |
Design | Suspension bridge |
Total length | 2,194.3 m (7,199 ft) |
Width | 31.7 m (104 ft) |
Height | 192 m (630 ft) (towers) |
Longest span | 1,120 m (3,670 ft) |
Clearance below | 38 metres (125 ft) |
History | |
Designer | Astaldi S.p.A. and IHI Infrastructure Systems Co., Ltd. |
Constructed by | Webuild S.p.A. and IHI Infrastructure Systems Co., Ltd. |
Construction start | 2018 |
Construction end | 2023 (planned) |
Location | |
Construction

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 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]
References
- "Podul suspendat peste Dunare de la Braila - un proiect asteptat de peste 20 de ani - Proiecte Infrastructura - HotNews.ro". monitorizari.hotnews.ro (in Romanian). 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
- "Italian-Japanese consortium to build EUR 430 mln Danube bridge". Romania Insider. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
- "Așa va arăta podul peste Dunăre" (in Romanian). obiectivbr.ro. 2018-07-20.
- "Începe construcția podului Tulcea - Brăila" (in Romanian). tulceanoastra.ro. 2018-12-20.
- "Drulă, despre podul de la Brăila: Începe ridicarea platformei de lucru. Cablurile cântăresc 6.700 tone FOTO". adevarul.ro. 2021-05-17. Archived from the original on 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
- "Imagini impresionante. Podul suspendat peste Dunăre de la Brăila este deja gata pe jumătate". www.digi24.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 2021-10-06.
- "Ciucă: În decembrie vom avea podul de la Brăila în circulație".
- Podul suspendat peste Dunare de la Braila - un proiect asteptat de peste 20 de ani (in Romanian)
External links

- Presentation Memo: Suspended bridge suspended over the Danube in the Brăila area
- Astaldi will build a suspension bridge over the Danube, in the Braila area in Romania
- IHI Group First Order Received for Large Suspension Bridge in Romania