Tunnel, Metro and Pancevacki Bridge - Is Belgrade Facing Its Biggest Traffic Test Yet?

As early as August, Belgrade could enter a period of major traffic challenges if construction begins simultaneously on the road tunnel from the Faculty of Economics to Despot Stefan Boulevard and the first metro line, while the reconstruction of the Pančevo Bridge is also scheduled to begin early next year. Dr. Emir Smailovic, Professor at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering in Belgrade, warns that the overlap of these major infrastructure projects could cause unacceptable congestion, particularly because the city lacks a modern transport model capable of assessing the consequences in advance.

Speaking to eKapija, he says that the fact three major projects will be carried out virtually in the same area represents a serious challenge for the functioning of the transport system.

- The announced schedule of these major and important infrastructure works will turn significant parts of Belgrade into one large construction site. This will certainly affect the quality of life, reducing it during the construction period but significantly improving it once the projects are completed. Given the differing information we are receiving from city officials, it appears that there is still no clear implementation schedule. Preparatory works also contribute to this, as they can objectively be unpredictable because they depend on a number of different stakeholders - Smailovic says.

Live Simulation

As he adds, the very idea of simultaneously carrying out works on the road tunnel, the Pančevo Bridge metro station and the reconstruction of the Pančevo Bridge will almost certainly lead to unacceptable congestion across the city.

- All three projects are expected to be carried out in immediate proximity to one another, which, in addition to causing congestion, could also significantly affect each other's implementation schedule. Excavating the tunnel and the metro station means a large number of heavy trucks will have to transport the excavated material away. Therefore, congestion is important not only from the perspective of quality of life but also for the implementation timeline of these projects. This certainly does not mean that the projects should be abandoned, but rather that their implementation schedule must be carefully planned and coordinated with all other stakeholders involved in these projects - our interviewee explains.

He emphasizes that during the implementation of projects of this scale and importance, it is essential to take residents' quality of life into account.

- For that to be possible, Belgrade needs a digitalized urban transport model. Such a model would make it possible to assess the complex consequences of major infrastructure works and to simulate different impacts and scenarios during construction quickly and inexpensively. Belgrade does not have such a model, while the current transport model dating from 2015 is outdated and unusable. As a result, instead of simulations in transport models, in the coming period we will witness a simulation carried out on actual road users - he points out.

Conflicting information has also emerged regarding the closure of Despota Stefana Boulevard.

- Each of these projects involves major changes to traffic and will alter conditions along the entire corridor of intensive traffic movements from the left bank of the Danube toward the rest of Belgrade. A digitalized urban transport model, together with the simulations and analyses it would enable, could provide the answer to this question. However, such a model cannot be developed within the short period remaining before construction begins, which means there are no useful analyses indicating the volume of works and the locations where construction can be carried out simultaneously - he adds.



The eKapija interviewee also notes that traffic engineers are generally involved in these projects only during the implementation phase.

- Traffic engineering expertise is insufficiently involved in the planning stage. Coordination among the various planning activities is also inadequate. This is why illogical situations and problems occur, such as simultaneous works on two bridges last autumn. The importance and volume of traffic along Despot Stefan Boulevard are demonstrated by the fact that two underground alternatives are now being built - the road tunnel and Metro Line 1 for origin-destination traffic. The widening of Dunavska Street and the modified traffic regulation on Vojvode Bojovica Boulevard represent the only practical alternative, but they do not have sufficient capacity to serve as an adequate substitute. This is even more problematic given that works have also been announced in Pariska Street, which could further negatively affect this already inadequate alternative - Smailovic explains.

A Bridge Upstream from the Pancevacki Bridge?

Commenting on why the construction of a new bridge across the Danube upstream from the Pancevacki Bridge has never been seriously considered, the professor explains that the development of the road network, public transport system and urbanization of the left bank of the Danube have for decades been centered around the existing bridge.

However, he adds that a future bridge on the eastern bypass around Belgrade could have a more significant impact on relieving traffic congestion.

- Traffic flows across the Danube are predominantly determined by the location of the Pancevacki Bridge. Accordingly, the road network and public transport system developed around it, and now we also see underground tunnels and the metro line following the same pattern. When this is combined with the way the left bank of the Danube has been urbanized, the absence of another bridge is understandable. I also believe that neither the left nor the right bank of the Danube currently has sufficient road network capacity to support another bridge upstream from the Pancevacki Bridge. At the moment, a more tangible and realistic challenge is the construction of the Danube bridge on the eastern bypass around Belgrade. That bridge, together with its connection to the expressway, the western section of the bypass and the wider road network, could also serve as an alternative to the Pancevacki Bridge - concludes the professor from the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering.

I. Zikic

Saobraćajni fakultet Beograd

Faculty of Traffic in Belgrade

Emir Smailovic

tunnel

Pancevac

Pancevacki Bridge

Despota Stefana Boulevard