New Croatia bridge redraws map of Adriatic coast

CNN ^ | 27th July 2022 | Tamara Hardingham-Gill,

[BenLurkin]

Co-funded by the European Union, the Pelješac bridge, which formally launched on Tuesday, stretches between Komarna on the mainland and Brijesta on the peninsula of Pelješac, providing easier access to popular tourist spot Dubrovnik.

The launch of the 2.4 kilometer (1.5 mile) cable-stayed structure is being hailed as a historic moment for the country, with hundreds of people turning out to be the first to cross on foot as the bridge opened to pedestrians and then to motorists.

Up until now, both residents and tourists had to cross through Bosnia-Herzegovina when traveling to and from the region of Southern Dalmatia to the mainland, which meant they were subject to border checks, bringing about traffic delays and leaving some of those in the Adriatic region feeling isolated.

Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has described the structure, which cost €525 million ($531 million) to build, as "not a luxury, but a necessity."

[BenLurkin]

[BenLurkin]

[ought-six]

Makes sense.

[House Atreides]

Nice looking bridge.

[Verginius Rufus]

The reason a bridge was needed was the bit of coast belonging to Bosnia and Hercegovina. The reason for Bosnia's coastline goes back to the days of the independent Republic of Ragusa (which included the Peljesac peninsula). The coast further north and most of the islands belonged to Venice, as did the Bay of Kotor area. Ragusa (Dubrovnik) did not want a common border with Venetian territory so there were tiny strips of Ottoman territory both to the north and to the south. The strip to the south (including Herceg Novi) was given to Montenegro along with the Bay of Kotor after WWII by Tito. Of course Tito never thought Yugoslavia would dissolve into multiple countries.

The Republic of Ragusa was notionally under Ottoman Turkey but independent in practical terms.

[CatHerd]

Thanks for posting! Wow. That’s quite a bridge, and beautiful. I love bridges for some reason. And love the Dalmatian coast. I was there as a child during Tito Time, again as an adult during the conflicts of the 1990s. Appreciate seeing the pictures.

[gnickgnack2]

I just watched American Built episode on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. Amazing. I never heard of it before.