The Asparuhov most or Asparuhov Bridge is a bridge in Varna

Varna

Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...

 on the Black Sea coast

Bulgarian Black Sea Coast

The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast covers the entire eastern bound of Bulgaria stretching from the Romanian Black Sea resorts in the north to European Turkey in the south, along 378 km of coastline. White and golden sandy beaches occupy approximately 130 km of the 378 km long coast...

 of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

, connecting the Asparuhovo quarter to the rest of the city over the canals between the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

 and Lake Varna

Lake Varna

Lake Varna is the largest by volume and deepest liman or lake along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, divided from the sea by a 2 km-wide strip of sand and having an area of 17 km², maximal depth 19 m, and a volume of 166 million m³....

.

The bridge is 2.05 km in length and 50 m in height, weighing 3,200 ton

Ton

The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...

s. It has 38 pairs of supports, each one capable of carrying 2,400 tons. The installation experiences significant traffic

Traffic

Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...

, with 10,000 vehicles crossing it every 24 hours.

The bridge's construction began in 1973 after the need for a larger canal to link Lake Varna and the sea was felt. The initial launch date was 30 September 1976, but construction was ahead of schedule and finished on 8 September, when the Asparuhov most was opened in a ceremony by Todor Zhivkov

Todor Zhivkov

Todor Khristov Zhivkov was a communist politician and leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from March 4, 1954 until November 10, 1989....

. Meanwhile, the new canal that the bridge crosses began operation on 1 September, with the first ship going through on 4 September the same year.

After 20 years of no repairs, reconstruction work began in 1996 to end in October 1998, but the installation was not reopened until 17 September 1999, a date far from the initial plans of a 16-month reconstruction.

Today the Asparuhov most is not only an important transport installation, but also a place where extreme sports fans meet, as the bridge is a favourable location for bungee jumping

Bungee jumping

Bungee jumping is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter, that...

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