Signing of an agreement on construction of the new Zezelj bridge on the Danube near Novi Sad, of which total value will exceed 60 million euros and which should be finished in 36 months, is scheduled for January 19, daily paper Novosti learns from unofficial sources in the European Commission’s Delegation to Belgrade.
According to unofficial information, the most favorable bid on the tender for selection of the contractor, announced in early August 2010, has been given by an international consortium led by a Spanish company. Its name should be officially announced within next few days.
Half of the money for construction of the bridge will be provided by the EU from its pre-accession funds, while the other half will be provided by the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the city of Novi Sad. In addition to their representatives, agreements with the future contractor will also be signed in Novi Sad by the representatives of Serbian Railways, representing the Republic Government as the main investor.
The new Zezelj bridge will be built in the location of the old one, which was torn down on April 26, 1999, in NATO bombing, while the building site is expected to be opened one month after all the agreements are signed. The first task of the contractor will be to elaborate a general project on the basis of the preliminary project whose author is the Italian company Italfer.
Steel bridge
The new bridge 400 meters long and 25 meters wide, with double-track railway, two road lanes and two pedestrian-bicycle trails, will be, practically, a visual replica of the old bridge, which was built in 1961 according to the project of Branko Zezelj. Unlike the old bridge, the new one will have steel as the dominant material in its structure instead of pre-stressed concrete. Namely, about 120,000 tons of that material will be built in two arches on each side of the bridge.
Source Ekapija.com
