These days, everybody is talking about the Pelješac bridge. A bridge 2.404 meters long, placed in Southern Dalmatia, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County.
Why is it so important?
The Pelješac bridge in the Maloston Bay between Komarna on the mainland and Brijest on the Pelješac peninsula is placed in such an outstanding position that it brings the continuity of the Croatian territory, which is interrupted by a narrow corridor through which Bosnia and Herzegovina exits the sea.
Until the bridge was built and traffic opened, the Croatian South wasn’t directly connected with the rest of Croatian territory.
This project brought Road connection to Southern Dalmatia, uniting it with the rest of our Country.
The most important project in the history of the Republic of Croatia
The construction of the Pelješac Bridge is one of the most important events for the people of the Pelješac peninsula.
The bridge provides access to the far South during strong winds when air and sea traffic is disabled, increases the level of reliability in terms of supply to the region, reduces travel time to the far South, and simultaneously decreases environmental impact.
The project’s strategic goals are: to improve the TEN-T road network along the Adriatic coast, improve the region’s competitiveness, increase the connectivity of the transport system and access to the remote territory of southern Dalmatia and reduce the impact on climate change and the environment.
Construction of 32.53 kilometers of roads from the year 2016 to 2022
The implementation of the project is planned for the period from 2016 to 2022, during which a total of 32.53 km of roads were (and will be) built with accompanying facilities (viaducts, bridges, tunnels, underpasses, rest areas, reservoirs, etc.).
4 phases of the construction are still in progress
The construction is taking place in 4 phases: the structure of the Pelješac Bridge (2.4 km), the construction of access roads on the mainland (2.14 km) and on the island of Pelješac (9,898 km), construction of the Ston bypass phase 1 (subsection Sparagovići/Zaradeže – Prapratno 10.2 km in length) and the structure of the Ston bypass phase 2 (subsection Prapratno – Doli 7.89 km in length).
The Pelješki Bridge was built as part of the Road Connections with South Dalmatia project, worth around 520 million euros, for which 357 million euros of European funds were secured.
The Pelješki bridge unites Croatia territorially and, on a symbolic level, connects and calls for the unity that led us to victory in the Homeland War.
The grand opening ceremony lasted the whole day, with an exciting program interspersed with historical and traditional dances and games, but also with selected musicians.
With numerous guests and politicians; The President of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Zoran Milanović, the Prime Minister, Mr. Andrej Plenković, and the President of the Croatian Parliament, Mr. Gordan Jandroković, with numerous local and foreign guests, the Pelješki Most was opened to traffic with spectacular fireworks.
Nevera – the hypercar made in Croatia (in Rimac Automobili co.) and Niko Pulić (Croatian automotive legend, multiple Croatian winner, and consecutive three-time European winner in mountain races) drove across the bridge towards each other.
Thus the bridge was officially opened on July 26th, 2022.
