Pancevo Bridge on City Assembly agenda – Reconstruction pending for 20 years

The Belgrade City Assembly is considering a document that, if adopted, should initiate the process of the long-announced reconstruction of the Pancevo Bridge. The proposed decision, which is on the agenda, envisages the development of a detailed regulation plan (DRP) that will define not only the reconstruction of the existing bridge structure over the Danube, but also the construction of new access ramps at Bogoslovija and at the Krnjaca interchange.

As stated in the document, the goal of the plan is to “improve the quality of road and rail infrastructure in order to increase the level of traffic safety, achieve faster and better passenger, rail, freight and goods traffic on the Pancevo Bridge.”

The plan covers an area of about nine hectares in the municipality of Palilula.

The draft decision of the Belgrade Assembly, which is being discussed by city councilors, envisages that the financing of the detailed regulation plan will be taken over by the Roads of Serbia, while the Belgrade Urban Planning Institute will have twelve months to develop the necessary documentation.

Reconstruction saga since 2006

Back in 2006, a large number of damages to the concrete structure were first identified, so the city government began to consider how to organize traffic while the works were ongoing.

The first serious reconstruction of the steel structure and the main truss girder began then, and lasted a year. The city government at the time announced the works as “saving the bridge,” but experts had already warned that this was a partial solution and that the access ramps and roadway were still in critical condition.

The next phase of the reconstruction saga began in 2014 with the opening of the Zemun-Borca bridge (Pupin Bridge), when the then mayor of Belgrade Sinisa Mali and city manager Goran Vesic announced that the Pancevo Bridge would be next as soon as heavy traffic was moved to the new “Chinese bridge.” According to the Beta agency, Mali reiterated in 2017 that this bridge was a priority for reconstruction.

However, the reconstruction did not come until 2021, when the story suddenly changed with the statement of the director of the Roads of Serbia, Zoran Drobnjak.

– The Pancevo Bridge is very old, every part of the bridge is a problem, including the pillars and the foundation itself. We should not waste money on rehabilitation, because it is impossible. When a bridge is more than 60 years old, as is the case with the Pancevo Bridge, rehabilitation is very rarely done. We did that on the Gazela, on a bridge that was 30 years old, and it cost 55 million EUR, because there was no alternative, nor space for a new bridge. We need more professional staff, construction machinery managers and tradesmen who would be present during the construction of road infrastructure and bridges – Drobnjak emphasized at the time in a statement for Mondo.

The Pancevo Bridge, by the way, turned 80 this year, having been opened to traffic in 1946, or five years after the original structure at that location was demolished in 1941 by the Yugoslav army in an attempt to slow the German advance towards the capital. The original bridge was built in 1935.

Cost of reconstruction and bridge on Ada Huja

Drobnjak estimated five years ago that the construction of a new bridge would cost around EUR 200 million, while informal estimates ranged from EUR 70 to 100 million, and that’s not including the construction of new access ramps, which will certainly significantly increase the cost of the entire project.

Let us also remind that there was speculation that the reconstruction of the Pancevo Bridge was “on hold” also because the construction of another alternative bridge was expected to begin, which would take over part of the traffic from Pancevo - the bridge on Ada Huja. The preliminary design for the bridge was created in 2019 and the “green light” has been secured, but there is currently no indication whether or when construction work will begin.

JP Putevi Srbije Beograd

JUP Urbanistički zavod Beograda

Roads of Serbia

Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade

Belgrade City Assembly

Pancevo Bridge Belgrade

reconstruction of Pancevo Bridge

construction of Ada Huja bridge

Ada Huja bridge

Zoran Drobnjak

Sinisa Mali

Goran Vesic