The original Zhezel Bridge (377 meters long) was over an arch bridge built between 1957 and 1961. It was designed by the eminent Yugoslav civil engineer Branko Zhezel and was constructed by Mostogradnja. It connected the urban area of Novi Sad and Petrovaradin. During its existence, it served as part of an international railway line and as a transit route through Novi Sad.
Original bridge damaged in 1999 (before complete destruction a few days later)
During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the bridge was bombed 12 times. On 23 April 1999, it was finally destroyed, disrupting rail transport between Belgrade and Subotica, ie [3]. During the NATO bombing, all three major bridges over the Danube in Novi Sad (Zhezel Bridge, Varadin Bridge and the Freedom Bridge) were completely destroyed.
In 2000, a temporary Road-Railway Bridge was built near Zhezhel Bridge to serve as a replacement for Zhezhel Bridge until a new one was built. Over the years, the construction of the new Zhezel Bridge has been postponed several times.
Construction work on the new bridge on the same site officially began in April 2012. The main designer of the new bridge was Alexander Bojovic, and the contractor was an international consortium, JV Azvi - Taddei - Horta Coslada. The new bridge is visually similar to the destroyed bridge, except that the arches are made of steel and not prestressed concrete. The bridge consists of two arches, the larger being 219 meters (719 feet) long and 42 meters (138 feet) high, and the smaller 177 meters (581 feet) long and 34 meters (112 feet) high. 7]
In October 2017, the arches of Zhezel Bridge were connected after five years of construction and eighteen years after the demolition of the previous bridge. As of October 2017, the construction works amounted to EUR 51.71 million. The bridge was completed in April 2018 and regular rail transport was established. The transit of the vehicle was established on September 1, 2018. Encyclopedia site: bg.wikiqube.net