| Danube Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Carries | two lanes of road and railway traffic, pedestrians |
| Crosses | Danube |
| Locale | between Giurgiu, Romania and Ruse, Bulgaria, at river kilometre 488.70 |
| Design | truss bridge |
| Total length | 2,800 m |
| Clearance below | 30 m |
| Opening date | 20 June 1954 |
| Coordinates | 43°53′22″N 26°0′19″E / 43.88944°N 26.00528°E |
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 (Romanian: 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.
Opened on 20 June 1954 and designed by Georgi Ovcharov (according to other sources: V. Andreev), the bridge is 2.80 km long and is the only bridge over the Danube in the section shared by Bulgaria and Romania as of 2008[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, and 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.
There are a pair of rectangular towers supported by pillars on both ends.
See also
- Calafat-Vidin Bridge, under construction
References
- ^ a b Bousfield, Jonathan; Richardson, Dan (2002). Rough guide to Bulgaria (4 ed.). Rough Guides. p. 203. ISBN 1858288827.
- ^ a b Watkins, Richard; Deliso, Christopher (2008). Bulgaria (3 ed.). Lonley Planet Publications. p. 271. ISBN 9781741044744.
External links
- Giurgio-Ruse Bridge in the Structurae database
- 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
 |
This article about a Bulgarian building or structure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This article about a Romanian building or structure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This article about a specific bridge or group of bridges is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
