Hence the name Dunav most 2 for the second bridge crossing the Danube between Vidin and Calafat. The bridge is located near the middle of this reversed S. At most part of the Danube river, the Bulgarian bank lies slightly higher above water than the Romanian river bank. Looking tremendous. [9] In January 2001, the cost for the bridge construction and the adjacent roads toward the bridge was estimated at US$200 million. They will serve also as border checkpoints until both Bulgaria and Romania enter the Schengen Area. Ruse is probably the most vibrant of all the Danube cities in Bulgaria. Further from Drobeta-Turnu Severin, the DN6 road to Lugoj, has also recently been under rehabilitation works and bypasses all the major settlements on the route. [58], The remainder of the A6 motorway, currently in the pre-feasibility phase, would include a connection to the bridge in one of its considered routes,[59] and a new planned European transit route named Via Carpathia, connecting Lithuania to Greece, was recently discussed in the European Parliament and includes the Calafat–Vidin Bridge on its route. A ferry shuttle service between Vidin and Calafat used to run night and day, but the ferry boat would not start to cross the river before it was fully loaded with trucks. The project involved the construction of a combined road and railway bridge across the Danube between Vidin in Bulgaria and Calafat in Romania, links to existing infrastructure as well as the border clearance and service facilities for operat-ing the bridge. The project will construct a new bridge, main road and connecting road, improving transport links from the Black Sea to north-east Romania. It was officially opened with a ceremony held on 14 June 2013. The cost of building the bridge, without the adjoining infrastructures was estimated in 2000 to be €99 million. Some of these technical details consisted of setting up cabins for the border police that checks the traffic between Bulgaria and Romania. Construction started in 1952, finished in 1954. The gap between the bridge decks of pillars PB10 and PB11 was closed during the summer. Romania and Bulgaria are currently connected by two bridges across the Danube: the Giurgiu-Ruse bridge, inaugurated in 1954 and the Calafat (Romania) – Vidin (Bulgaria) bridge, inaugurated in 2013. Ruse oblast is more defined by the Danube valley than its neighbors. Note: Sorry for the dirty windshield, water frozen at SOFIA, BG!!!! [11] Another factor that would make ferry traffic impossible or difficult were the very cold winters, when the Danube river sometimes freezes completely. Approaching the bridge from Vidin, Bulgaria, in the summer of 2013 it was not very clearly signposted that traffic past the Vidin exit, which lies approximately 5 kilometres from the bridge, would automatically end up at the Calafat toll gates, with no possibility to escape the toll fares. It is an extradosed bridge and was built by the Spanish company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, at the … Bridge deck ready, but finishing works still lasted 8 months, Panoramic view of the bridge under construction, Romanian Minister of Transport, Constructions and Tourism, "Construction of ... Bridge ... at Vidin-Calafat", Commissioner Hahn hails opening of ‘New Europe Bridge’ as a potent symbol of European Cooperation, Bulgaria-Romania New Danube Bridge Named 'New Europe' Novinite/Sofia News Agency, 15 June 2013, "One-mile-long bridge across Danube due to open", Дунав мост 2 - 100-годишна сбъдната мечта, "The Danube's Economic Blues; Balkan Area Hopes a Bridge Can Put It on Road to Riches", "Record Danube Low Freezes River Traffic", "Bulgaria faces further fatal freeze a day after Black Sea devastation", "Bulgaria: Danube Freeze Shuts Bulgarian-Romanian Ferries", "Balkan experts to tackle Danube bridge stalemate", "Bulgaria, Romania disagree again over Danube bridge", "The Second Danube Bridge: Where Is the Problem Actually? They are also protesting against air pollution in the city. Even though the linking roads are still far from motorway standards, the New Europe Bridge (Danube Bridge 2) has become highly popular among transport companies, because it provides a road with no custom checks from Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey to Austria, Germany and the rest of Europe, through Romania and Hungary, without leaving the European Union. The project has an estimated cost of nearly €440 million. Bulgaria and Romania will build another bridge over the Danube, near Ruse, the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said yesterday evening, reports Novinite.. [64], Before the opening of the bridge, Bulgarian Minister of Transport Ivaylo Moskovski said that he expected traffic across the bridge to exceed 100,000 vehicles in the first year,[65] although initially estimates suggested a volume of 3,000 vehicles per day,[66] which is closer to the one of the Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge. The DN56A road from Calafat to Drobeta-Turnu Severin has recently been rehabilitated. Travellers from Bulgaria (and Turkey) towards Central and Western Europe who wanted to avoid both the long waiting times and high transfer prices for the Calafat-Vidin ferry crossing and the customs procedures and road tolls one would face when travelling through Serbia, which is outside the European Union border, had to make a long detour towards the Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge. This is because here the Danube has a very large mirrored S-shape, spanning across approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi), starting at Novo Selo and ending in Lom. On 3 October 2012, the remaining gap in the bridge was only 18 metres (59 ft). The bridge would be constructed in Romania’s Dobrogea Region. [42], The longest line of waiting trucks on the bridge could add up to 100 trucks, with a total maximum weight of 4,000 tonnes, assuming that every truck would be loaded to a maximum of 40 tonnes. At the point where the railway meets the road, a gap in the median crash barrier has been adapted to serve as a U-turn lane. Last, the Calafat-Vidin bridge does not yet have any motorway connections (see below). New Danube bridge to speed up international traffic. The bridge is located between Vidin (Bulgaria) and Calafat (Romania).It is 1971 meters long. It remained however uncertain when vehicles were to be able to cross the bridge, as the finishing works, such as paving the bridge deck and mounting safety barriers, were expected to take several months. [citation needed] From Lugoj, the first 11.5 km long section of the A6 motorway provides a link to the currently partially under construction A1 motorway and thereby further to Nădlac and the Hungarian border. In 2004, a research on the design of the bridge was financed by the PHARE program. „Danube bridge Vidin-Calafat“ АD, 22.10.2020, Due to finishing repair works of the bridge between Vidin and Calafat, from October 15th – October 16th 2020, vehicles crossing from Romania to Bulgaria shall use right lane on the roadway. Residents of the Danube city of Ruse blocked traffic near Danube Bridge border crossing at the Bulgaria-Romania border. „DanubebridgeVidin-Calafat“ АD, 10.11.2020, Due to implementation of repair works on road overpass on E-79 in the Romanian part of the Border check-point at Danube Bridge Vidin–Calafat, from October 26th 2020 to November 09th 2020 a temporary road organization will be introduced. The toll is collected at toll booths, located on the Romanian side. Although Bulgaria is south of Romania, crossing the Danube Bridge 2 from Vidin towards Calafat is done from northwest to southeast. The section will be provided with the relevant road signs! These historical documents were shown on Bulgarian television in June 2013, during a report on the Second Danube Bridge. There is also another road from Sofia to Vidin (81), via Kostinbrod and through the Petrohan Pass to Montana. By April 2012, only one segment in between the bridge decks of PB 9 and PB10 was still missing. This bridge is located 307 kilometres (191 mi) downstream and before 2013 it was the only other bridge across the Danube border that Bulgaria shares with Romania. The section will be provided with the relevant road signs!„Danube bridge Vidin-Calafat“ АD, 24.11.2020, Due to implementation of repair works on road overpass on E-79 in the Romanian part of the Border check-point at Danube Bridge Vidin–Calafat, beginning from November 10th 2020 until November 16th 2020 a temporary road organization will be introduced. The official opening has been scheduled for June 14 and will be attended by Romanian prime minister Victor Ponta and European Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn. Due to implementation of repair works on road overpass on E-79 in the Romanian part of the Border check-point at Danube Bridge Vidin–Calafat, beginning from November 10th 2020 until November 16th 2020 a temporary road organization will be introduced. However, the city of Vidin is lying lower and is protected by dikes, while the bank on the Calafat side is high above Danube river. There are plans for upgrading the road from Botevgrad to Vidin to an expressway (dual carriageway road without hard shoulder), with a tender for the construction of several sections announced at the end of 2012. Senior government officials from Bulgaria and Romania, including the two heads of government, and European Commissioner for regional policy Johannes Hahn attended on June 14 the official opening of the bridge over the Danube River between Vidin and Calafat. Bulgarian newspapers hence described the opening of the New Europe Bridge across the Danube river as 'the materialising of a century old dream'. [34] Throughout the year 2012 the bridge got into shape. [18][19] Thanks to the lobby of Bodo Hombach, the European Investment Bank granted the project a credit loan of €50 million in December 2000. [39] In October 2012 it was expected that this company would be located in Sofia.[40]. "The Calafat-Vidin bridge will be inaugurated on June 14th. The main pillars became clearly visible throughout 2011. In 1999, a stability pact for South East Europe was signed by banks and national governments, aiming to bring investments to countries like Bulgaria and Romania. [62] The route from Kapitan Andreevo (the border between Bulgaria and Turkey) to Nădlac (the border between Romania and Hungary) across the Calafat–Vidin Bridge is approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) shorter than the route across the Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge, which had been the most used route between the two countries for the freight traffic. The idea was to have these segments ready long before they were needed, so that the assembly of the superstructure of the bridge could not be delayed because of possible quality problems with the concrete. The bridge is the second on the 500-kilometer stretch of the Danube River that forms the common border between the Balkan neighbors, and is touted as a key to boosting growth in one of Europe's poorest regions. ", "European Investment Bank Activities in South Eastern Europe", "Bridge to a new era for Bulgaria and Romania", "Bulgaria: EC Backs Down over Danube Bridge Funding", "The construction of Danube Bridge II begins", "Станишев направи първа копка на Дунав мост 2", "Строителството на Дунав мост 2 стартира през юни", "През юни тази година ще започне строителството на моста на р. Дунав между Видин и Калафат", "Bulgaria: Land Litigations in Bulgaria Delay Second Bridge over Danube", "Bulgarian-Romanian bridge delayed by land plot disputes", "More delays for Vidin-Calafat Danube bridge", "Klassa.bg - Construction of Danube Bridge 2 delayed due to concession issues", "ROMANIA: Romania Could Lose European Funding of Calafat-Vidin Bridge, Transport Minister Warns", "Bulgaria: EC Snubs Bulgaria, Steps Back over Danube Bridge Funding Alone", "Томислав Дончев: Дунав мост-2 ще е готов до края на годината", "Bulgaria: 18m 'Left' to Bridge Bulgaria, Romania Again", "New Danube Bridge Between Bulgaria and Romania To Improve European Transport Network", "Bulgaria: Bulgarian, Romanian PMs Meet Halfway on Freshly Built Bridge", "Podul dintre România şi Bulgaria de la Calafat-Vidin va fi deschis în primăvara anului viitor", "Cum va influenţa ruta Calafat-Vidin strategia de transport a României. [6], The issue of the establishment of a management company that would operate the bridge and collect tolls was solved. [30][31] Taking a closer look on the Bulgarian side, one could notice some preparation of the track leading towards the future bridge, with a small office being built. [16] The final agreement was that the second Danube bridge was to be built between Vidin and Calafat, but Romania refused to invest in other than the adjacent infrastructure on their territory.[17]. The Danube River catchment basin comprises 42.5% of the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and total… After this gap was closed, one could walk halfway across the Danube river. In 2009, it became clear that the building of the second Danube Bridge could not be finished by the end of 2010, since it had not yet really begun. A research under the European PHARE programme found that the most profitable place for the bridge would have been between Lom and Rast, but neither countries agreed with this. Cyclists approaching the bridge from Vidin, Bulgaria would have to cross the approach road 1/E79 at some point, to get to the cycling track on the left side of the road, but crash barriers stand in their way. Kilometer markers are set up along the Danube river and counting starts at the Black Sea. During the first year of rapidly building the concrete factory, FCC Construccion was preparing the segments for the bridge. Vidin municipality had split up land that was needed for the bridge into smaller parcels. The New Europe Bridge, previously known as the Danube Bridge 2 (Bulgarian: Дунав мост 2, Dunav most 2), and informally called the Calafat-Vidin Bridge (Bulgarian: Мост Видин–Калафат, Most Vidin–Kalafat; Romanian: Podul Calafat–Vidin), is a road and rail bridge between the cities of Vidin, Bulgaria, and Calafat, Romania. Due to the early completion of the repair works, the passage of motor vehicles through the overpass on road III-122 from Vidin to Novo Selo, road junction "Novo Selo", is carried out normally in both traffic lanes of the overpass.„DanubebridgeVidin-Calafat“ АD, 07.12.2020, Due to the repair of the overpass on road III-122 from Vidin to Novo selo, road junction “Novo selo”, from November 25th 2020 to December 09th 2020 a temporary road organization will be introduced. [47] This road is shorter and very scenic, but it takes more time as it runs over the Balkan Mountains and through the villages. [27] Soon after the official ceremony, trouble started. Bulgaria shares borders to the north with Romania, to the east with the Black Sea, to the south with Turkey and Greece, and to the west with Macedonia and Serbia. Pending issues were how and where that company would be registered, dispute resolution methods and what fiscal law it would be subject to. [9] In fact, the whole country became isolated, since Bulgarians had always been relying on the road through Serbia for their transit transport to Western Europe.[10]. The movement of vehicles from Bulgaria to Romania shall use the right lane on the roadway. But along the 470-kilometer river stretch, there is only one road connection over one bridge. [15] Romania wanted transiting trucks to stay in their country as long as possible by placing the bridge further east, between Turnu Măgurele and Nikopol. The company that manages the bridge is based in Vidin,[43] the road tolls are collected at the Romanian side of the bridge and each side receives the part of the tolls that they have invested in the bridge (about 80% of the toll funds will go to Bulgaria). Before this bridge opened, the only connection between Bulgaria and Romania was the Ruse bridge (in the east, around 55 kilometres from Vidin), which will now be refurbished. [14] This detour to Ruse often took longer than waiting for a ferry in Vidin or Oryahovo, however, both ways of crossing the border can take a long time. Starting at PB9, the bridge deck was extended segment by segment and soon the first stay cables could be seen. Danube Bridge 2 between Bulgaria and Romania: The Bridge of Shame! Between 2007 and 2009 not much progress had been achieved. [6] The first vehicles were allowed to cross the bridge after midnight, on 15 June 2013. :-) Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov wanted to give the project a credit loan of US$180 million. [60] The Romanian PM Victor Ponta made a statement after the inauguration of the bridge that Romania plans to build a motorway between Craiova and Calafat. [48], According to the planned road network of Pan-European corridors, the bridge was supposed to have access to the Bucharest – Craiova – Timișoara – Budapest motorway by 2017, allowing rapid transit from North-western Bulgaria, to South-western Romania, Eastern Hungary and the rest of Europe. In May 2013, the FCC subcontractor Eptisa tested the bridge with heavily loaded train cars and trucks. The tender process is being opened by the Romanian National Agency for the Administration of Road Infrastructure (CNAIR). In February 2012, the Bulgarian Minister of European Union Funds Management Tomislav Donchev said that he expected the bridge to be finished by the end of 2012. [67], 508,294 vehicles crossed the bridge in the first year after the opening, thus surpassing the initial prognosis. [57] The new bridge connecting Romania and Bulgaria via the cities of Calafat and Vidin should be ready at the beginning of May and crossing the bridge across the Danube will cost EUR 2 for cars. [37] At the event, the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov declared that he expected that the bridge would be opened in spring 2013. The Bulgarian Ministry of Transport delayed the start of the construction at least three times before the inaugural ceremony. Official website of the maintenance company of the bridge, website of the construction of Danube Bridge 2, Construction of ... Bridge ... at Vidin-Calafat, Bridge ... between Vidin (Bulgaria) and Calafat (Romania), FCC`s teamwork in the Danube Vidin-Calafat`s bridge, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Europe_Bridge&oldid=997255548, Articles with dead external links from December 2016, Articles with dead external links from October 2010, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Articles containing Bulgarian-language text, Articles containing Romanian-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2013, Articles with failed verification from July 2013, Articles with dead external links from July 2013, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Four lanes of roadway, one railway track and a combined bicycle path/pedestrian walkway (, Trucks up to 7.5 t; Vehicles between 9 and 23 seats, Trucks over 12 t with up to 3 axles; Vehicles with over 23 seats, Images with the construction status of the bridge were posted regularly on the, A live traffic camera has been installed. 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