38,000km of steel wires to support Danube crossing

Construction of the Braila Bridge in Romania is 59% complete, following the completion of the two supporting cables, says Italian contractor Webuild.

Construction workers on the Braila Bridge in Romania

The cables are said to contain 38,000km of intertwined steel wires between them, weighing a combined total of 6,775 tonnes.

The suspension bridge, which Webuild is constructing as a joint venture with Japanese bridge specialist IHI Infrastructure Systems, will be the second longest in continental Europe, with a total length of 1,975m.

Installation of the supporting cables for the bridge – which has a central span of 1,120m – has taken a team of around 150 technicians and specialist workers some four months to complete.

With a total value for design and construction of approximately €485 million, the bridge will host four traffic lanes, plus emergency lanes and pedestrian and cycle paths.

All construction work is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, with some 7,000 vehicles a day set to use the new crossing when it opens early in 2023.