Two Exceptional Bridges to be Inaugurated Next Week

The record-long pedestrian suspension bridge in Sátoraljaújhely (northeastern Hungary, along the Slovak border).

Two new bridges will be opened in Hungary in the first week of June, and they are not just any bridges: one is the new Danube bridge between Kalocsa and Paks, officially named the Tomori Pál Bridge, and the other is the world-record-breaking pedestrian suspension bridge in Sátoraljaújhely, Világgazdaság reports.

The Tomori Pál Bridge is the twentieth Danube bridge on the Hungarian stretch of the river. According to newly released information, it will be opened next week on Thursday, June 6.

Thanks to the new Danube bridge, the journey time between Kalocsa and the M6 motorway and between Kalocsa and Paks (both in southern Hungary) will be reduced to approximately 15 minutes.

The total value of the bridge and the related road network development project, carried out by ÉKM and Duna Aszfalt Zrt, is HUF 92 billion net (EUR 236 million).

During the construction of the substructures (including the foundations) and superstructures of the new bridge, the contractor used approximately 28,000 cubic meters of concrete, and the weight of the steel structure exceeds 5,000 tons. In addition, 418 kilometers of pre-stressing tendons were installed and 82,300 tons of stone were used for the hydraulic structures and pillar protection.

The new Danube bridge is 946 meters long and was built by around 900 people.

Just two days before June 6, another special bridge will be inaugurated in Hungary next Tuesday. This is the Sátoraljaújhely pedestrian suspension bridge, called the Bridge of National Unity, a world record holder in its category. Its inauguration on June 4 is no coincidence: it is the Day of National Unity, commemorating the anniversary of the signing of the 1920 Trianon Treaty.

The more than 700 meter-long pedestrian suspension bridge, held aloft by six steel cables, will connect Szár Hill and Vár Hill.

This technology has never been used to build a bridge of this length, not only in Hungary, but in the whole world, making it one of the largest in its category.

It will be inaugurated on June 4, and the next day the residents of Sátoraljaújhely and Sárospatak will be able to try it out for free. From June 6, the world-record-long pedestrian suspension bridge will be open to all, but only with a ticket. Tickets will be available at the Castle Visitor Center in the Castle Hill car park, and a ticket machine will be installed at both ends of the bridge. Payment at the ticket machines will be by credit card only.

The entrance fee to the bridge will be HUF 5,000 (EUR 12.84),

but residents of Sátoraljaújhely and Sárospatak will get a 20 percent discount.

Via Világgazdaság, Featured image: Facebook/Magyarország Kormánya