Pupin Bridge, Road bridge in Belgrade, Serbia
Pupin Bridge is a 1,482-metre road bridge over the Danube linking Zemun and Borča, 29.1 metres wide and 22.8 metres high. It is built as two independent structures of three 3.5-metre lanes each, with pedestrian and bicycle paths on both sides, and one larger span for ship passage.
A bridge at this spot was discussed for decades but postponed by the poor economy and repairs on Belgrade's Sava bridges. In 2009 Serbia signed a precontract with Chinese partners; Exim Bank of China covered 85% of the €170 million cost, and the China Road and Bridge Corporation built it, with 45% of materials required from Serbia. Works began in 2011 after delays over land in Zemun's Pregrevica neighbourhood, the halves were joined in July 2014, and Premier Li Keqiang opened it on 18 December 2014.
The bridge is named after Mihajlo Pupin, a Serbian scientist from the Banat region, chosen because the crossing links that region with Belgrade. Before the name was adopted, it was informally called the Chinese Bridge after its Chinese builders and Exim Bank credit. A marble slab marking the opening was replaced after protests because it resembled a traditional Serbian gravestone.
The bridge carries six car lanes, three in each of two independent structures, with pedestrian-bicycle paths on both sides. It links Zemun's T-6 street near Nova Galenika with Zrenjanin Road north of Borča, and 21.6 km of access roads connect it to Pančevo Road. It stands a few kilometres upstream of the Pančevo Bridge.
The bridge's Chinese builders placed a black marble slab to mark the ceremonial opening, unaware that such a rectangle is a traditional Serbian gravestone. After public protests over the slab and its faulty Serbian grammar, it was replaced.
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