Conclusions of the environmental impact study presented in Dubrovnik
Head of the team developing the Environmental impact study for Pelješac bridge, Stjepan Kralj, presented the main conclusions of the study in Dubrovnik yesterday. According to their findings, the bridge, as a project, is acceptable and will not greatly impact the environment so there is no reason why the realisation of the bridge should not get a green light.
During his public presentation, Kralj commented that there are some environmental and spatial effects, but none of them present a reason to stop the construction: “The main conclusion of our study, after all conducted tests and procedures, is that this project is acceptable environmentally and spatially. There are some smaller and few more significant effects, but none of them are large enough to make its realisation impossible” he commented.
When it comes to obstacles of the project, at least the ones we’ve been hearing about in the papers, Kralj noted that since the planned location of the bridge is in the bay of Mali Ston, which is a protected mussel growing area, special attention was paid to the technology and methods of construction: “Special attention was paid in terms of the construction of the bridge in order to keep the pollution to an absolute minimum. That is why the columns carrying the bridge will be built one by one in order not to lift the mud in a large area. Furthermore, waste water from the bridge will not be discharged without prior cleaning“ he explained.
The study also included the effect of the bridge on Bosnia and Herzegovina, primarily in terms of the maritime route, so Kralj commented on this aspect too:“ We studied the effect of the bridge on Bosnia and Herzegovina, all the materials were delivered to them and now we are waiting for their notes and possible objections. Nautical routes under the bridge will not be closed off and I believe this will ease the arrival to Pelješac from Bosnia“.
Even though we are yet to hear if there are any objections from the Bosnian side, distance between columns is 285 metres, which is more than what is requested by international regulations. The bridge is 2404 m long, it will have one lane and one jayby on each side and it will be able to withstand earthquakes up to a Magnitude 9 on the Richter Scale. Last but not least (and if you’ve ever travelled over Maslenički most you’ll know why this is important), air flow protection is provided on the bridge so traffic will not have to be closed during extreme jugo or bura.
