A new bridge over the Danube River between Bulgaria and Romania has just been inaugurated.
The Vidin-Calafat bridge took six years to build, cost Euro 275 million and was financed in part by the European Union.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications promoted the project. The bridge, which is 1.9km long, carries both road and rail traffic, comprising a four-lane motorway, a bike path, two pedestrian walkways and central railway tracks.
Contractor FCC built the bridge, and also built the railway station accesses, which include a new goods station, the refurbishment of an existing passenger station and 17km of new railway track.
According to both governments, the bridge will be used by more than 100,000 vehicles each year. It will be managed by a Bulgarian-Romanian joint venture.
This transport link will channel all goods and passenger traffic between southern Europe (Greece, Macedonia and Turkey) and the north (Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) without passing through non-EU countries.
