Two major projects are now well underway in Romania and are for the Craiova-Pitesti highway and Brăila Bridge. The Brăila Bridge project is around 60% complete at present and the work is being carried out by an Italian-Japanese joint venture comprising Astaldi (later renamed Webuild)) and IHI. If the schedule continues to plan, the new bridge should be ready for traffic in late 2022.
The Client is CNAIR, a state-owned company headed by the Romanian Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. The works are included in Romania’s Transport Master Plan.
Financing worth €363 million was provided by the European Regional Development Fund for the bridge project. The suspension bridge is 1,974m in length and 31m wide, with a main span of 1,120m and side spans of 489.5m and 364.5m. Once complete, it will be the third longest suspension bridge in Europe. Its construction is requiring the use of around 297,000m3 of concrete and 52,360tonnes of steel and has required 8,600m of 1.8m diameter bored piles as well as 19,000m2 of 1m thick diaphragm walls.
The bridge features two 110m access viaducts while the project includes 23km of access roads. The bridge will have two lanes for motor traffic in either direction as well as facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.
Construction work for the Brăila Bridge commenced in 2019 and it spans the River Danube, connecting the city of Brăila in eastern Romania with Tulcea County. This will be Romania’s fourth crossing spanning the River Danube and will also allow passage for seagoing vessels underneath.
The first study for the project was carried out in 1986, with the pre-feasibility study having been carried out in 1994.
Work is also underway for section 4 of the Dex12 Craiova-Pitesti highway. The section of highway measures nearly 32km, while the contract is worth nearly €125 million.
