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A huge investment is about to be completed, reports Világgazdaság. In a few months, the twentieth Danube bridge in Hungary will open to traffic. The crossing, to be built between Paks and Kalocsa (both in southern Hungary), will shorten a seventy-kilometer detour.
A few days ago, the two sides of the new Kalocsa-Paks Danube bridge were physically joined. This is a huge and significant project. That is why it is important to know how the construction is progressing and when the twentieth crossing of the Hungarian section of the Danube will be completed.
The Mayor of Kalocsa has just provided up-to-date information on this issue. Géza Filvig published a post on social media about the project. He wrote that although the two sides of the bridge are physically joined, work is still in full swing. At the same time, he stressed that
the bridge will be open for traffic this summer.
This is an important confirmation that there will be no delay in construction and that the previously assumed summer 2024 opening date is indeed achievable.
The new bridge over the Danube between Paks and Kalocsa will shorten a seventy-kilometer detour as soon as vehicles can use it. This will reduce the journey time between Kalocsa and the M6 motorway and between Kalocsa and Paks to approximately 15 minutes. According to Géza Filvig, the new Danube bridge will create
for the city. “As mayor, I am working to ensure that our city makes the most of the new opportunities and that Kalocsa finally joins the national economic cycle,” he noted.
Photo via Facebook/Filvig Géza
The contractor is Duna Aszfalt, which started construction in February 2021.
It is a classic megaproject: the bridge will be 946 meters long and will be accompanied by a major road network.
Duna Aszfalt was awarded the contract by National Infrastructure Development Ltd. (NIF) in autumn 2020, for around HUF 92 billion (EUR 242 million). Since then, NIF has essentially been merged into the Ministry of Construction and Transport, making the ministry the contractor.
The original plan was to spend around HUF 77 billion (EUR 202 million) on the construction of the crossing and both the 512 and 5124 roads linking the crossing to the surrounding settlements and the M6 motorway. In addition, there is another road running along the western bank of the Danube, linking Gerjen (southern Hungary) and Paks. This phase costs around HUF 15 billion (EUR 39.4 million). This brings the total amount of the development to HUF 92 billion. It is not yet known whether the price has changed as a result of the negative economic circumstances since then.
Via Világgazdaság, Featured image via Facebook/Filvig Géza