Ten years since the opening of the Danube Bridge Vidin-Kalafat

Danube Bridge Vidin-Calafat was officially opened on June 14, 2013 in the presence of: European Commissioner, senior statesmen from Bulgaria and Romania, the Bulgarian Patriarch, representatives of the diplomatic corps in the countries on both banks of the river, numerous officials, representatives of the media from all over Europe, representatives of the Bridge Builder and the Supervisor, many citizens.

The designer of the Bridge is Eng. Antonio Martínez Cutillas, Spain. Builder – FCC Construcción, Spain. Construction supervision – French-British consortium Ingerop/High-Point Rendel. Management Teams: Eng. Alberto Vergara, Eng. Julio Ruiz, Eng. Rafael Huerga; Eng. Steeve Pollard, Eng. Michael Taylor, Eng. Andrew Taylor ; Eng. Simeon Evtimov, Eng. Hristo Monev.

For all these years, more than 9,300,000 motor vehicles have passed over the Danube Bridge Vidin-Kalafat, of which 60% are heavy-duty trucks, according to Eng. Lyudmil Dimitrov, executive director of the company that manages the facility. By the end of 2023, their number is expected to reach ten million. The most numerous vehicles are from: Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, etc.

Here are some short videos of the construction of the long-awaited bridge:

During construction, the bridge was visited by over 6,500 people. The interest shown by students from various construction specialties, as well as engineers from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Germany, Belgium, Spain, etc., was especially great.

The construction of the bridge was the object of a visit by representatives of the diplomatic missions in Bulgaria of: Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, Belgium, Vietnam, Israel, Austria, United Kingdom, Hungary, Republic of Korea, Romania and Serbia. MEPs and senior statesmen often visited the construction site.

The interest of the media in the „Danube bridge Vidin-Kalafat“ project is remarkable. And, in addition to almost all Bulgarians, German, English, French, Belgian, Dutch, Romanian and American journalists from: „FINANCIAL TIMES“, RTZ, „Tipik“, „Le Bloguer“- Arte, „Deutsche Welle“, ITV showed special interest Wales, Discovery Channel, ARD, Deutschlandfunk, BBC, The New York Times, etc. As the highlight of all published and broadcast reports and films, is the strategic role of the bridge that connects Western and Southern Europe.