Gazela Bridge

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Gazela Bridge

Official name	Gazela Газела
Design	Milan Đurić
Total length	332 m
Width	27.5 m
AADT	More than 160 000 vehicles per day
Beginning date of construction	1966
Completion date	1970

Gazela (Serbian Cyrillic: Газела, meaning gazelle) is the most important bridge in Belgrade, Serbia, across the Sava river. It is a part of the city highway and it lies on European route E75, on the highway passing through the wider city center, connecting Belgrade with Niš on south and Novi Sad on north. It was designed by a group of engineers led by Milan Đurić and built in 1966-1970, by Belgrade company Mostogradnja.

The bridge is 332 m long and 27.5 m wide, with three lanes in each direction, and total road width of 21.8 m. It is constructed as a combination of beam and arch, with shallow-frame beam and diagonal steel-concrete abutments. The maximum height of the span centre is 22.8 m at median water level.

The bridge is the chief connection line between old and New Belgrade, and also carries the transit traffic on E70 and E75 highways through Belgrade. As such, it is extremely overloaded and a cause of frequent congestions, as it leans on the main Belgrade's Mostar interchange. On average over 160,000 vehicles cross it everyday (notwithstanding the impeded flow), even though it was originally planed that it will be used by 40,000. The long overdue reconstruction of the bridge is scheduled to the end of 2007, and the relief of congestion problem is expected when the Belgrade bypass (scheduled for 2008) and an additional bridge over Ada Ciganlija are completed. The residents of Belgrade fear that the bridge closure due to the reconstruction will bring the already difficult commuting through the city to the halt, especially since it will coincide with Pančevo bridge reconstruction, scheduled for spring 2008. The authorities try to reassure the public that the bridge will not be closed until the bypass (already behind the schedule) is completed, but the experts and the public are suspicious.