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The New Europe Bridge ( bg, Мостът Нова Европа, Mostŭt Nova Evropa; ro, Podul Noua Europă) is a road and rail bridge between the cities of
Vidin Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as o ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, and
Calafat Calafat () is a city in Dolj County, southern Romania, in the region of Oltenia. It lies on the river Danube, opposite the Bulgarian city of Vidin, to which it is linked by the Calafat-Vidin Bridge, opened in 2013. After the destruction of the bri ...
,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. It is the second bridge on the shared section of the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
between the two countries. It is an
extradosed bridge An extradosed bridge employs a structure that combines the main elements of both a prestressed box girder bridge and a cable-stayed bridge. The name comes from the word ''extrados'', the exterior or upper curve of an arch, and refers to how the "s ...
and was built by the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
company
Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, S.A. (), or FCC, is a Spanish construction company based in Barcelona. Until November 2014, over 50 percent of the shares were owned by a company controlled by the daughter of its founder, Esther Koplo ...
, at the cost of
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
226 million. It was officially opened with a ceremony held on 14 June 2013. The first vehicles were allowed to cross the bridge after midnight, on 15 June 2013. It was previously known as Danube Bridge 2 ( bg, Дунав мост 2, Dunav most 2; ro, Podul 2 peste Dunăre) and informally called the Vidin–Calafat Bridge or Calafat–Vidin Bridge ( bg, Мост Видин–Калафат, Most Vidin–Kalafat; ro, Podul Calafat–Vidin). The latter is the most common name it receives in Romania.


History and geography

As early as in 1909 the local authorities in Vidin (in Bulgaria) had first expressed their interest in building a bridge to Calafat (in Romania), by sending a petition to the Bulgarian parliament and to
Aleksandar Malinov Aleksandar Pavlov Malinov ( bg, Александър Павлов Малинов) (3 May 1867 – 20 March 1938) was a leading Bulgarian politician who served as Prime Minister on three occasions. He was born in Pandakli, Bessarabia (prese ...
, who was prime minister at that time. These historical documents were shown on Bulgarian television in June 2013, during a report on the Second Danube Bridge. Bulgarian newspapers hence described the opening of the New Europe Bridge across the Danube river as 'the materialising of a century old dream'. Building a
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
between Calafat (in Romania) and Vidin (in Bulgaria) had been discussed more seriously since the late 1970s, but the plan was abandoned over and over again. For centuries there had been no bridges crossing the Danube river between Bulgaria and Romania since the destruction of Constantine's Bridge, which was built by the Romans, until the Giurgiu–Ruse Friendship Bridge was built and opened in 1954. During the late 1990s, Bulgaria had to close its border with
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, because of the war in
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
, followed by an international economic boycott against Yugoslavia. This caused great damage to the already weak economy in northwestern Bulgaria. 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. A
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
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. During the night, with little trucks arriving, ferry passengers had to wait several hours to cross the Danube river. Dry summers come with low water levels in the Danube river, which sometimes caused the ferry to get stuck at the loading ramp, making waiting times even longer. Another factor that would make ferry traffic impossible or difficult were the very cold winters, when the Danube river sometimes freezes completely. About one month after the opening of the bridge, the ferry service between Vidin and Calafat was suspended. 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 Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, which is outside the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
border, had to make a long detour towards the Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge. This bridge is located downstream and before 2013 it was the only other bridge across the Danube border that Bulgaria shares with Romania. This detour to
Ruse Ruse may refer to: Places *Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria **Ruse Municipality ** Ruse Province ** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency *Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia * Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...
often took longer than waiting for a ferry in Vidin or
Oryahovo Oryahovo ( bg, Оряхово ) is a port city in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Vratsa Province. It is located in a hilly area on the right bank of the Danube, just east of the mouth of the river Ogosta, a few more kilometres downstream from ...
, however, both ways of crossing the border can take a long time. Travelling through Serbia was usually faster, but crossing outside the borders of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
can be a hassle with customs. Waiting at the Serbian customs can take 1 to 5 hours, especially during the summer season, when many immigrants travel back to their families. The Danube Bridge 2 makes travelling in and out of Bulgaria through Vidin much easier than it was previously by ferry boat. 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 Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge was built with help from the Soviet Union and opened in 1954 as the Friendship Bridge ( bg, Мост на дружбата, Most na druzhbata; ro, Podul Prieteniei). Instead of its official name, Bulgarians tend to simply call it the ''Dunav most'', which means Danube Bridge. Hence the name ''Dunav most 2'' for the second bridge crossing the Danube between Vidin and Calafat. On the other hand, in Romania, this trend is not as common. Kilometer markers are set up along the Danube river and counting starts at the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
. Although Bulgaria is south of Romania, crossing the Danube Bridge 2 from Vidin towards Calafat is done from northwest to southeast. This is because here the Danube has a very large mirrored S-shape, spanning across approximately , starting at Novo Selo and ending in Lom. 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. However, the city of Vidin is lying lower and is protected by
dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...
s, while the bank on the Calafat side is high above Danube river.


Controversy about the location

Starting from 1993, there was a long and bitter dispute between Romania and Bulgaria about the location of the second Danube bridge. Bulgaria wanted to revive the isolated city of Vidin, as well as to have the bridge on the shortest possible route to Central and Western Europe and argued for putting the bridge as far west as possible, between Vidin and Calafat. A research under the European
PHARE The Phare programme is one of the three pre-accession instruments financed by the European Union to assist the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe in their preparations for joining the European Union. Originally created in 1989 as ...
programme found that the most profitable place for the bridge would have been between Lom and Rast, but neither countries agreed with this. Romania wanted transiting trucks to stay in their country as long as possible by placing the bridge further east, between
Turnu Măgurele Turnu Măgurele () is a city in Teleorman County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. Developed nearby the site once occupied by the medieval port of Turnu, it is situated north-east of the confluence between the Olt River and the Dan ...
and Nikopol. In 1998, Greece offered to invest in the bridge, since they wanted a road linking
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
to the rest of Europe through Romania, as Greece was also cut off from Europe by the war in Kosovo and the boycott against Yugoslavia. 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.


Financing sources

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. Chairman of this stability pact was
Bodo Hombach Bodo Hombach (born 19 August 1952) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Early life and education Bodo Hombach was born in Mülheim on the Ruhr, North Rhine-Westphalia. After training to become a telecommunicati ...
, who had set up a great lobby in favor of the new bridge between Vidin and Calafat. The cost of building the bridge, without the adjoining infrastructures was estimated in 2000 to be €99 million. Bulgarian Prime Minister
Ivan Kostov Ivan Yordanov Kostov ( bg, Иван Йорданов Костов ) (born 23 December 1949, in Sofia) was the 47th Prime Minister of Bulgaria in office from May 1997 to July 2001 and leader of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) between Dec ...
wanted to give the project a credit loan of US$180 million. Thanks to the lobby of Bodo Hombach, the
European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions ...
granted the project a credit loan of €50 million in December 2000. In January 2001, the cost for the bridge construction and the adjacent roads toward the bridge was estimated at US$200 million. In 2004, a research on the design of the bridge was financed by the PHARE program. In 2005 and 2006, consultants were hired to control all procedures in the building process and private companies were invited to send in a bid. In 2012, the cost of building the Danube Bridge 2 and its adjoining infrastructures raised to the sum of €226 million.


Construction progress

Construction officially began on 13 May 2007 in Vidin in the presence of Bulgarian Prime Minister
Sergei Stanishev Sergey Dmitrievich Stanishev ( bg, Сергей Дмитриевич Станишев ; born 5 May 1966) is a Bulgarian politician who is serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He previously served as President of the Party of Eu ...
and Special Coordinator of the
Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe The Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe was an institution aimed at strengthening peace, democracy, human rights and economy in the countries of South Eastern Europe from 1999 to 2008. It was replaced by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in ...
Erhard Busek Erhard Busek (25 March 1941 – 13 March 2022) was an Austrian politician from the Christian-conservative People's Party (ÖVP). Throughout his political career, he was widely regarded as one of the leaders of the party's liberal wing. He was c ...
. According to former Romanian Minister of Transport, Constructions and Tourism
Radu Berceanu Radu Mircea Berceanu (; born 5 March 1953) is a Romanian engineer and politician. A member of the Democratic Liberal Party (PD-L), he was a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for Dolj County from 1990 to 2004, and sat in the Romanian S ...
, construction was planned to be completed in 2010, with most of the construction to be done by Bulgarian subcontractors.


Delay before and during construction

The Bulgarian Ministry of Transport delayed the start of the construction at least three times before the inaugural ceremony. Soon after the official ceremony, trouble started. Vidin municipality had split up land that was needed for the bridge into smaller parcels. Since these parcels were sold out to different people, the Bulgarian minister of transport had to wait for a law that made it possible to expropriate the new landowners. These procedures slowed down the real start of the building process to a great extent. Between 2007 and 2009 not much progress had been achieved. 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. Meanwhile, the Danube riverbank was being prepared for the construction of a concrete factory. Trees on the small island on the Bulgarian side of the Danube however took a long time to be cut off. 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. Due to the failure to meet the original deadline, Bulgaria almost lost the financing of the whole project, but they were granted more time to finish the bridge by the end of 2012,.


Construction becoming visible

Visible construction actually started in 2009, on the Bulgarian bank of the Danube river. During the first year of rapidly building the concrete factory, FCC Construccion was preparing the segments for the bridge. 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 Danube Bridge 2 consists of eight pillars that are in the non-navigable channel of Danube river, crossing from the low lying Bulgarian bank over the small island, followed by its four main pillars, numbered PB9, PB10, PB11 and PB12. The design was to have 13 pairs of stay cables attached to every main pillar in the navigable channel of the Danube river. By June 2010, only the bridge crossing over the small island had been built. The foundation of the pillars in the navigable channel of the river were built during the same year by special foundation contractor TERRATEST. Foundation per pier was composed by 24 in situ piles 2 m diameter and depths ranging between 68 and 80 m (one of the deepest in situ foundation project in Europe), executed by maritime means. The main pillars became clearly visible throughout 2011. In February 2012, the Bulgarian Minister of European Union Funds Management
Tomislav Donchev Tomislav Peykov Donchev (Bulgarian: Томислав Пейков Дончев) (born 6 August 1973 in Gabrovo, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian GERB politician. Between 2007 and 2010 Donchev was mayor of Gabrovo, from March 2010 to March 2013 he was M ...
said that he expected the bridge to be finished by the end of 2012. Throughout the year 2012 the bridge got into shape. Starting at PB9, the bridge deck was extended segment by segment and soon the first stay cables could be seen. By April 2012, only one segment in between the bridge decks of PB 9 and PB10 was still missing. After this gap was closed, one could walk halfway across the Danube river. The gap between the bridge decks of pillars PB10 and PB11 was closed during the summer. Despite the low water levels in the Danube river construction continued swiftly, working on the
abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
A3, on the Romanian river bank. On 1 October 2012, the gap between the bridge deck at PB12 and the abutment A3 on the Romanian river bank was closed. On 3 October 2012, the remaining gap in the bridge was only . Bulgarian radio reporters found out about a technical problem: the difference in the height of the bridge deck between two sides of the gap was , so closing of the gap was not possible before both bridge decks were adjusted to the same height level.


Bridge deck ready, but finishing works still lasted 8 months

If the building process continued at the same speed, reportedly, one may have expected that the last gap, between pillars PB11 and PB12, was closed in November 2012. 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. On 24 October 2012, the two countries' Prime Ministers, joined by the
European Union Regional Policy The regional policy of the European Union (EU), also referred as Cohesion Policy, is a policy with the stated aim of improving the economic well-being of regions in the European Union and also to avoid regional disparities. More than one third ...
Commissioner
Johannes Hahn Johannes Hahn (born 2 December 1957) is an Austrian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Budget and Administration under Ursula von der Leyen since 1 December 2019. He previously served as European Commissioner for European Ne ...
, met halfway on the bridge, after the two shores of the Danube were finally connected during the preceding week. At the event, the Bulgarian Prime Minister
Boyko Borisov Boyko Metodiev Borisov ( bg, Бойко Методиев Борисов, ; born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who served as the prime minister of Bulgaria from 2009 to 2013, 2014 to 2017, and 2017 to 2021, making him Bulgaria's secon ...
declared that he expected that the bridge would be opened in spring 2013. Another issue that had to be solved was the establishment of a management company that has to operate the bridge and collect tolls. Pending issues were how and where that company would be registered, dispute resolution methods and what fiscal law it would be subject to. In October 2012 it was expected that this company would be located in Sofia. The building of the bridge saw a fatal victim in November 2012, when a Romanian worker fell off the bridge. His body was not found. In May 2013, the FCC subcontractor Eptisa tested the bridge with heavily loaded train cars and trucks. The total weight used for the tests was 1,992 tonnes. 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.


Opening date

On 22 May 2013, the Bulgarian president announced that the opening ceremony of the Danube Bridge 2 was set to take place on 14 June 2013, and that the toll for passenger cars would be six euro.
Announcement of the Bulgarian president as published by Focus News Agency on 22 May 2013 (in Bulgarian), retrieved 31 May 2013
The issue of the establishment of a management company that would operate the bridge and collect tolls was solved. The company that manages the bridge is based in Vidin, 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). The opening of the bridge was estimated to take place in May 2013, but technical problems have caused further delay. Some of these technical details consisted of setting up cabins for the border police that checks the traffic between Bulgaria and Romania. The two countries were initially set to become part of the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
by the time the bridge would open, and no border police cabins had been ordered until the very last moment. After some delay, the bridge was officially opened on 14 June 2013.


Work left to be done

In its first year of operation, it was discovered that water was leaking in between the asphalt road cover and the bridge deck. Repairs took 4 months and were paid by the FCC company, through the warranty established. The bridge has a separated path for pedestrians and cyclists, but the approach to this cycling track seems to be not signposted clearly enough. 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. Cyclists therefore often continue cycling on the main road instead, as can be seen i
this video
Only 16 months after its official opening there are potholes in the road from the bridge to the toll gates, as can be see
further on in the aforementioned video
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. This has been fixed by a sign warning that the road ahead is a toll road, just a few hundred metres before the bridge. 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. The main road (1/E79) was supposed to have 2 lanes in each direction, but the left lane now ends into the U-turn-facility, which is signposted rather sparsely, thus forming a safety risk to both traffic overtaking at higher speeds and cyclists, as can be seen i
this video
filmed in October 2014. Last, the Calafat-Vidin bridge does not yet have any motorway connections (see below).


Connecting road network

The Danube Bridge 2 is part of the
Pan-European Corridor IV The Corridor IV is one of the Pan-European transport corridors. It runs between Dresden/Nuremberg in Germany and Thessaloniki (Greece) / Constanța (Romania) / Istanbul (Turkey). The corridor follows the route: Dresden / Nuremberg – Prag ...
. It is also part of the
European route E79 European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...
, that runs from
Miskolc Miskolc ( , , ; Czech language, Czech and sk, Miškovec; german: Mischkolz; yi, script=Latn, Mishkoltz; ro, Mișcolț) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 (1 Jan 2014) Miskolc is the ...
(
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
) to
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
(
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
), via the Romanian cities of Beiuş,
Deva Deva may refer to: Entertainment * ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film * ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film * ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film * Deva (2007 Telugu film) * ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film * Deva ...
, Petroşani,
Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu () is the capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polata, ...
and
Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
. According to the planned road network of Pan-European corridors, the bridge was supposed to have access to the
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
motorway by 2017, allowing rapid transit from North-western Bulgaria, to South-western Romania, Eastern Hungary and the rest of Europe.


Bulgarian perspective

The national road from
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
to
Vidin Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as o ...
( I-1/E79) is linked to the
Hemus motorway The Hemus motorway (, ) or Haemus motorway, designated A2, is a partially built motorway in Bulgaria. Its planned length is 418 km, of which 191 km are in operation . The motorway in operation is divided into two sections — the first ...
(A2) up to the city of
Botevgrad Botevgrad ( bg, Ботевград ) is a town in western Bulgaria. It is located in Sofia Province and is close to Pravets. Botevgrad lies 47 km from Sofia. History and name The village was called Samundzhievo (Самунджиево) until ...
, and continues with a
dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
road to
Vratsa Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana. ...
. The road from
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
to Vidin is a rehabilitated two-lane
single carriageway A single carriageway (British English) or Undivided highway (American English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road has a s ...
road. There is also another road from Sofia to Vidin (81), via
Kostinbrod Kostinbrod ( bg, Костинброд ) is a town in western Bulgaria. It is the seat of Kostinbrod Municipality. It is located 15 km west of the capital city of Sofia. It is located on two important transport corridors: Lom — Sofia — T ...
and through the Petrohan Pass to Montana. This road is shorter and very scenic, but it takes more time as it runs over the
Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...
and through the villages. There are plans for upgrading the road from Botevgrad to Vidin to an
expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...
(dual carriageway road without
hard shoulder A shoulder, hard shoulder (British) or breakdown lane, is an emergency stopping lane by the verge of a road or motorway, on the right side in countries which drive on the right, and on the left side in countries which drive on the left. Many wid ...
), with a tender for the construction of several sections announced at the end of 2012. Traffic analysis on this route have indicated that (as of 2013) it did not require a
motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
status, therefore Bulgaria's priorities remain finishing the already started motorway projects, such as the
Hemus Hemus may refer to: * ''Hemus'' (crab), a genus of spider crabs * Haemus, a Thracian king in Greek mythology * Haemus Mons, ancient name of the Balkan Mountains (Bulgaria) * Hemus Air, a Bulgarian airline * Hemus (publishing house), a Bulgarian p ...
and the Struma motorways, as well as the new planned
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
motorway, between Sofia and the Serbian border.


Romanian perspective

In Romania, the bridge provides access to national roads connecting with
Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
and
Drobeta-Turnu Severin Drobeta-Turnu Severin (), colloquially Severin, is a city in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania, on the northern bank of the Danube, close to the Iron Gates. "Drobeta" is the name of the ancient Dacian and Roman towns at the site, and the modern ...
. These are not among the busiest roads in the country, according to a study conducted in 2010. The DN56 road from Calafat to Craiova, considered to be in a poor condition, is currently under rehabilitation works and runs through most of the settlements on the route. The DN56A road from Calafat to Drobeta-Turnu Severin has recently been rehabilitated. Further from Drobeta-Turnu Severin, the
DN6 DN6 ( ro, Drumul Național 6) is a national road in Romania which links Bucharest with the Banat region in the western part of the country and further to the East-European capitals Budapest and Belgrade via the border with Hungary near Cenad. I ...
road to
Lugoj Lugoj (; hu, Lugos; german: Lugosch; sr, Лугош, Lugoš; bg, Лугож; tr, Logoş) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș River divides the city into two halves, the so-called "Romanian Lugoj" ...
, has also recently been under rehabilitation works and bypasses all the major settlements on the route. From
Lugoj Lugoj (; hu, Lugos; german: Lugosch; sr, Лугош, Lugoš; bg, Лугож; tr, Logoş) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș River divides the city into two halves, the so-called "Romanian Lugoj" ...
, the first 11.5 km long section of the A6 motorway provides a link to the currently partially under construction
A1 motorway A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...
and thereby further to
Nădlac Nădlac (; sk, Nadlak; hu, Nagylak) is a town in western Romania, Arad County. A former part of the town lies across the border with Hungary; this village is called Nagylak. An international border town, Nădlac is the main border crossing into ...
and the Hungarian border. 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, and a new planned European transit route named
Via Carpathia Via Carpathia (also Via Carpatia) is a planned transnational highway network connecting Klaipėda in Lithuania with Thessaloniki in Greece. It is currently planned to open in 2025. The Polish part of Via Carpatia has been named in 2021 after late ...
, connecting
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
to Greece, was recently discussed in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
and includes the Calafat–Vidin Bridge on its route. The Romanian PM
Victor Ponta Victor Viorel Ponta (; born 20 September 1972) is a Romanian jurist and politician, who served as Prime Minister of Romania between his appointment by President Traian Băsescu in May 2012 and his resignation in November 2015. A former member of ...
made a statement after the inauguration of the bridge that Romania plans to build a motorway between
Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
and
Calafat Calafat () is a city in Dolj County, southern Romania, in the region of Oltenia. It lies on the river Danube, opposite the Bulgarian city of Vidin, to which it is linked by the Calafat-Vidin Bridge, opened in 2013. After the destruction of the bri ...
. Most of the international transit traffic across the bridge is between
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, with a significant part of the freight traffic coming from
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. The route from
Kapitan Andreevo Kapitan Andreevo ( bg, Капитан Андреево ) is a village near the Bulgaria—Turkey—Greece tripoint in Svilengrad municipality, Haskovo Province, southern Bulgaria. As of 2005 it has 948 inhabitants and the mayor is Dimitar Shidero ...
(the border between Bulgaria and Turkey) to
Nădlac Nădlac (; sk, Nadlak; hu, Nagylak) is a town in western Romania, Arad County. A former part of the town lies across the border with Hungary; this village is called Nagylak. An international border town, Nădlac is the main border crossing into ...
(the border between Romania and Hungary) across the Calafat–Vidin Bridge is approximately shorter than the route across the Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge, which had been the most used route between the two countries for the freight traffic. It is also an important alternative, in terms of time, to the transit route through
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, which despite being shorter and providing more kilometers of motorway, has pricier road tolls and can take more time for customs procedures, due to the fact that the country is not a member of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.


Number of vehicles per day

Before the opening of the bridge, Bulgarian Minister of Transport
Ivaylo Moskovski Ivaylo Moskovski ( bg, Ивайло Московски) (born 19 July 1972 in Pleven) is a Bulgarian politician and former Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications in Bulgaria. Ivaylo Moskovski was born on 19 July 1972 ...
said that he expected traffic across the bridge to exceed 100,000 vehicles in the first year, although initially estimates suggested a volume of 3,000 vehicles per day, which is closer to the one of the Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge. 508,294 vehicles crossed the bridge in the first year after the opening, thus surpassing the initial prognosis.


Tolls

Effective from 1 July 2013, the following
toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use ** Shadow toll, ...
s apply for crossing the New Europe Bridge: The toll is collected at toll booths, located on the Romanian side. They will serve also as
border checkpoint A border checkpoint is a location on an international border where travelers or goods are inspected and allowed (or denied) passage through. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-controlled borders ofte ...
s until both Bulgaria and Romania enter the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
. In June 2013, it was possible for cars coming from Bulgaria to drive over the bridge and turn around just before the toll gates and escape the tolls, as shown i
this video
filmed in the first hour after the bridge had been opened for traffic. However, anothe
video
recorded in October 2014 shows that it is no longer possible to sneak through that parking lot and drive back over the bridge to Bulgaria for free.


Gallery

*Images with the construction status of the bridge were posted regularly on th
official website
of the project, when it was under construction by FCC Construción. * A live traffic camera has been installed. As of October 2014, any vehicle driving from Vidin to Calafat can be seen o
this webcam
pointing towards the Romanian bank of the Danube river. Vehicles driving into Bulgaria are hard to see, since they drive behind a crash barrier next to the railway track.


See also

*
Bulgaria–Romania border The Bulgaria–Romania border ( bg, Граница между България и Румъния, translit=Granitsa mezhdu Bŭlgariya i Rumŭniya, ro, Frontiera între Bulgaria și România) is the state border between Bulgaria and Romania. For ...
* Giurgiu–Ruse Friendship Bridge *
List of crossings of the Danube river This is a list of crossings of the Danube river, from its source in Germany to its mouth in the Black Sea. Next to each bridge listed is information regarding the year in which it was constructed and for what use it was constructed (foot bridge ...
*
List of bridges in Bulgaria This list of bridges in Bulgaria lists bridges of particular historical, scenic, architectural or engineering interest. Road and railway bridges, viaducts, aqueducts and footbridges are included. Historical and architectural interest bridges ...
*
List of bridges in Romania This list of bridges in Romania lists bridges of particular historical, scenic, architectural or engineering interest. Road and railway bridges, viaducts, aqueducts and footbridges are included. Historical and architectural interest bridges M ...


Notes


References


Further reading


Bulgaria: Bulgaria-Romania 2nd Danube Bridge 73% Completed
article about the bridge construction status by the Sofia News Agency
Bulgarian-Romanian bridge delayed by land plot disputes
Sofia Echo article about the land that was needed for the bridge
Danube Bridge 2 between Bulgaria and Romania: The Bridge of Shame!
article by Ivan Dakov, published on Novinite, 12 December 2012


External links


Official website of the maintenance company of the bridge
with information and toll prices
website of the construction of Danube Bridge 2Construction of ... Bridge ... at Vidin-Calafat
ISPA report
Bridge ... between Vidin (Bulgaria) and Calafat (Romania)
EIA Eia or EIA may refer to: Medicine * Enzyme immunoassay * Equine infectious anemia * Exercise-induced anaphylaxis * Exercise-induced asthma * External iliac artery Transport * Edmonton International Airport, in Alberta, Canada * Erbil Internation ...
case study
FCC`s teamwork in the Danube Vidin-Calafat`s bridge
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
video
New bridge opens on the River Danube
Euronews Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective. The majority of Eurone ...
article
New bridge opening on River Danube
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
article
Major transport hub in the making?
Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...
article {{Crossings navbox , structure = Bridges/Dams , place =
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
, bridge = New Europe Bridge , upstream = Iron Gate II
Ostrovul Mare Bridge The Ostrovul Mare Bridge is a bridge in Romania over the of the Danube. It is intended for complementary access to the Ostrovu Mare Island and the Iron Gate II Hydroelectric Power Station, respectively to the local border crossing point between ...
, downstream = Giurgiu–Ruse Friendship Bridge ---- '' Constantine's Bridge (historical)'' Buildings and structures in Vidin Buildings and structures in Dolj County Bulgaria–Romania border crossings Bridges in Bulgaria Bridges in Romania Railway bridges in Bulgaria Railway bridges in Romania Bridges completed in 2013 Bridges over the Danube International bridges Transport in Vidin Road-rail bridges Toll bridges