Ada Bridge without exploitation permit after seven years

The Ada Bridge opened for traffic on January 1, 2012, but hasn't obtained the exploitation permit in these seven years.

According to earlier announcements made by those in charge, this was supposed to happen in 2017, then in mid-2018, and now, no deadlines are even being mentioned anymore. The Belgrade Land Development Public Agency told Blic that the public procurement procedure had been carried out and that the report by the commission for technical examination had been obtained.

– The public procurement procedure for the preparation of the study of geodetic works for the structure and the study of geodetic works for the underground installations of the Ada Bridge for the purpose of the issuing of the exploitation permit is currently in progress – the Agency says.

When asked what the new deadline for the obtaining of the permit is, the Agency provided no clear answer, so it is certain that this won't happen in 2019 either.

– Once the study is finished, it will be sent to the competent ministry along with a positive report by the commission for technical examination and a request for the issuing of the exploitation permit – the Agency said.

According to experts from the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, the lack of this document does not affect the practical usage of the bridge. They cited examples of other structures that have been operational for decades without an exploitation permit.

However, considering that the bridge is supposed be used by pedestrians and cyclists as well, the elevators meant for them, which cost a million euros, remain unused. Also, the maintenance of the bridge is one of the problems, as the lack of the exploitation permit means that it is not known who is in charge of this job.

The laying of tram tracks on the Ada Bridge should be completed in mid-2019, following which new tram lines will be introduced, connecting Banovo Brdo and Rakovica on one side and New Belgrade on the other.

JP Direkcija za građevinsko zemljište i izgradnju Beograda

Saobraćajni fakultet Beograd

Ada Bridge