Croatia plans to build 7.1 mln euro bridge over Kupa river

The contract for the construction of the new bridge will be signed by the end of this year, transport minister Oleg Butkovic said in a statement on Wednesday.

He was speaking at the opening of a revamped bridge on the Kupa river in the Karlovac county, in central Croatia. Renovation works cost 5 million kuna and lasted three months. They were carried out by state road operator Hrvatske Ceste.

However, despite the renovation, the load capacity of the bridge remains limited to vehicles of up to 15 tonnes, the statement said.

"We need a new bridge since the old one does not meet the state roads criteria in terms of windth and load capacity, and in particular because this area is undergoing strong economic growth," Butkovic said.

The new bridge will be built alongside the existing one in Gornje Pokupje, some 50 km southwest of the capital Zagreb and some 30 km away from the border with Slovenia.

Once it opens for traffic, the old bridge will be used by pedestrians and cyclists, Butkovic said.

(1 euro = 7.45104 kuna)