Giurgiu-Rousse Friendship Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Danube Bridge is a steel
truss bridge
over the Danube River connecting the Bulgaria
n bank to the south with the Romania
n bank to the north and the cities of Ruse and Giurgiu
respectively.
. It has two decks, one for road (two lanes) and one for railway traffic, as well as sidewalks for pedestrians. The central part of the bridge (85 m) is mobile and can be lifted for oversized boats passage. The maintenance of the mobile part is Romania's responsibility and is periodically checked. The bridge 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.
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.
On 3 September 2011 the Bulgarian part of the bridge was opened, after two month long rehabilitation.
There are a pair of rectangular towers supported by pillars on both ends.
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
truss bridge
Truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...
over the Danube River connecting the 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...
n bank to the south with the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n bank to the north and the cities of Ruse and Giurgiu
Giurgiu
Giurgiu is the capital city of Giurgiu County, Romania, in the Greater Wallachia. It is situated amid mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city of Rousse on the opposite bank. Three small islands face the city, and a larger one shelters its port, Smarda...
respectively.
History
Opened on 20 June 1954 and designed by Georgi Ovcharov (according to other sources: V. Andreev), the bridge is 2223.52 m (7,295 ft) long and is the only bridge over the Danube shared by Bulgaria and Romania , with the other traffic being served by ferriesFerry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
. It has two decks, one for road (two lanes) and one for railway traffic, as well as sidewalks for pedestrians. The central part of the bridge (85 m) is mobile and can be lifted for oversized boats passage. The maintenance of the mobile part is Romania's responsibility and is periodically checked. The bridge was constructed in two and a half years with the aid of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
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.
The Danube Bridge also has border control
Border control
Border controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders.The control of the flow of many people, animals and goods across a border may be controlled by government Customs services. Security is enforced by various kinds of Border Guards and Coast Guards...
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
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. Border control will be completely removed when Bulgaria and Romania implement the Schengen Agreement
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
which is expected to happen in 2011.
On 3 September 2011 the Bulgarian part of the bridge was opened, after two month long rehabilitation.
There are a pair of rectangular towers supported by pillars on both ends.
See also
- European route E70
European route E70European route E 70 is an A-Class West-East European route, extending from A Coruña in Spain in the west to the Georgian city of Poti in the east.-Itinerary:... - European route E85
European route E85European route E 85 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe.The E 85 starts from Klaipėda runs south through Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria to Greece, ending at Alexandroupolis.... - DN5DN5DN5 is an important national road in Romania which links Bucharest with the southern country border with Bulgaria by the Giurgiu Russe Friendship Bridge....
in Romania - CFR Line 902Caile Ferate Române Line 900Line 900 is one of CFR's main lines in Romania having a total of 533 km and passing through important cities like Alexandria, Bucureşti, Caransebeş, Craiova, Drobeta Turnu Severin, Giurgiu, Piteşti and Timişoara.-Secondary lines:...
(Giurgiu - BucharestBucharestBucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
) and CFR Line 903 (Giurgiu - VideleVideleVidele is a town in Teleorman County, southern Romania, with a population of 12,015 in 2002. It was upgraded to town status in 1968 by incorporation of a few villages nearby...
) in Romania - Danube Bridge 2, another bridge in construction connecting Bulgaria and Romania
External links
- Halfway down the Danube, a short story about crossing the bridge