Four years after the construction of Pelješac Bridge started back in July 2018, the bridge and its access roads will finally be open to the public on July 26 2022.
The bridge, designed by Slovenian engineer Marjan Pipenbaher and constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), is set to connect the Croatian exclave of Dubrovnik region with the rest of Croatian mainland. The bridge itself was already completed in January 2022, but the construction of the access road lagged behind the bridge from the start after multiple appeals by construction companies bidding on the project delayed the beginning of the project.
The construction of the bridge and its access road have been reported to have cost 2,08 billion HRK (cca. 277 million Euros), 85% of which was financed by the funds from the European Union, with Republic of Croatia covering the rest.
The completion of the Pelješac project (see it on Google Maps here) has been said to reduce the travel time in the area by more than 50%. It will shorten the travel distances to the peninsula of Pelješac itself, but it will also make getting to the islands of Korčula and Mljet much quicker and easier. Since the construction of the bridge will basically remove the otherwise necessary passage through 2 border checkpoints near Neum in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the project will also significantly shorten travel times to the crown jewel of the Croatian Adriatic – Dubrovnik.
The opening ceremony on July 26 at around 10PM, when the most powerful electric hypercar in the world and a product of the flagship tech company of Croatia, Rimac Nevera will take a celebratory drive on the completed bridge. Rimac Nevera will meet up on the bridge with a car driven by Croatian relly driver Niko Pulić, with fireworks set to go off in the background.
Because of the ceremony, the bridge will only be accessible to pedestrian traffic and vehicle traffic is expected to commence on July 27.