According to media sources, the bridge which is currently under construction is too low.
Part of the new Čiovo Bridge, whose construction is currently under way, is nearly two meters too low. That was determined by representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds during their recent visit to the construction site, reports Jutarnji List on October 7, 2016.
The problem is with the first 50 meters of the bridge from the mainland side, where it is allegedly too low relative to the sea surface. The total length of the bridge is 546.34 metres. At that part of the bridge, the distance between the sea surface and the bridge is between 1.2 to 2.2 metres. If nothing is changed, seawater will soak the pillars, as well as the promenade which will be built next to the bridge.
Sources claim that, at the time of high tides, the sea level can rise more than a metre in that area. Therefore, even smaller waves would cover the top of the lowest pillar of the bridge, while higher waves would cover three additional pillars. If that happens, the sea would dampen the steel bearings which are on the top of the pillars, and that could soon lead to corrosion of bearings so the bridge would no longer be functional.
The investor of the whole project which will connect the island of Čiovo with the mainland is Croatian Roads public company which claims that everything is being done according to the project design and that the bridge is not too low. However, they do admit that the bridge is slightly lower than was originally planned. The height of the bridge has been reduced at the request of conservationists who argued that a higher bridge would obscure the townscape of nearby Trogir. However, they insists that everything has been done according to the project. Zlatko Šavor, who designed the construction of the bridge, did not want to comment on the issue.
Currently, pillars for the bridge have mostly been constructed and now the steel structure will be installed. The total value of the construction of the bridge is 207.9 million kuna, with as much as 176.7 million kuna being financed from the European Union funds.
