Danube Bridge

Giurgiu-Ruse Bridge
Carries	two lanes of road and railway traffic, pedestrians
Crosses	Danube
Locale	between Giurgiu, Romania and Ruse, Bulgaria, at river kilometre 488.70
Designer	Georgi Ovcharov (according to other sources: V. Andreev)
Design	truss bridge
Total length	2,223 m (7,293 ft)
Clearance below	30 m (98 ft)
Construction begin	1952
Opened	20 June 1954
Coordinates	43°53′22″N 26°0′19″E / 43.88944°N 26.00528°E / 43.88944; 26.00528

The Danube Bridge (formerly known as the Friendship Bridge;^[1][2] Bulgarian: Мост на дружбата, Most na druzhbata or more commonly Дунав мост, Dunav most; Romanian: Podul prieteniei or Podul de la Giurgiu) is a steel truss bridge over the Danube River connecting the Bulgarian bank to the south with the Romanian bank to the north and the cities of Ruse and Giurgiu respectively.

History

The projected bridge on a 1948 stamp

Opened on 20 June 1954^[3] and designed by Georgi Ovcharov (according to other sources: V. Andreev), the bridge is 2,223.52 m (7,295.0 ft) long and is the only bridge over the Danube shared by Bulgaria and Romania as of 2011^[update], with the other traffic being served by ferries. It has two decks, one for road (two lanes) and one for railway traffic, as well as sidewalks for pedestrians. The central part of the bridge (85 m) is mobile and can be lifted for oversized boats passage. The maintenance of the mobile part is Romania's responsibility and is periodically checked. The bridge was constructed in two and a half years with the aid of the Soviet Union.

The Soviets named it the "Friendship" Bridge, but since the fall of the countries' socialist regimes, the bridge has had the more functional name of "Danube" Bridge.^[1][2]

The Danube Bridge also has border control stations due to it serving as a border crossing between the two countries. Since 1 January 2007 there is no more customs control and the passport/identity card control is done "on one desk" by Bulgarian or Romanian border police, because it is an internal border for the European Union. Border control will be completely removed when Bulgaria and Romania implement the Schengen Agreement which is expected to happen in 2011.

On 3 September 2011 the Bulgarian part of the bridge was opened, after two month long rehabilitation.

There are a pair of rectangular towers supported by pillars on both ends.

See also

Danube Bridge

• European route E70
• European route E85
• DN5 in Romania
• CFR Line 902 (Giurgiu - Bucharest) and CFR Line 903 (Giurgiu - Videle) in Romania
• Danube Bridge 2, another bridge in construction connecting Bulgaria and Romania

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Bousfield, Jonathan; Richardson, Dan (2002). Rough guide to Bulgaria (4 ed.). Rough Guides. p. 203. ISBN 1858288827. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Watkins, Richard; Deliso, Christopher (2008). Bulgaria (3 ed.). Lonely Planet Publications. p. 271. ISBN 9781741044744. 
3. ^ The history of "The Danube" bridge (Romanian)

External links

• Giurgio-Ruse Bridge at Structurae
• Halfway down the Danube, a short story about crossing the bridge

Coordinates: 43°53′25.91″N 26°0′15.45″E / 43.8905306°N 26.0042917°E / 43.8905306; 26.0042917