Međugorje - Bijača: 10 km of highway to be opened on September 16

With the opening of the highway section from the Međugorje interchange to the Bijača international border crossing, which will be opened on September 16, Bosnia and Herzegovina will gain ten new kilometers of modern highway, writes the BiH news agency Patria (NAP).

This section was recently mentioned in an article about highway construction through BiH, specifically the problems and modern solutions on Corridor 5C passing through BiH, by author Guy Woodford in the world-renowned media specializing in highway construction, "World Highways".

This section includes two bridges, Studenčica and Trebižat, one viaduct, Pavlovići, and the Bijela Vlaka tunnel.

- Due to the difficult terrain, a large number of tunnels and bridges have been built in Bosnia. The Austrian company Doka is participating in the construction, and the issue of the Studenčica and Trebižat bridges, which are to connect the valleys near the municipality of Čapljina, is being solved using a total of ten cantilever cranes - Woodford wrote.

- With a length of 555 meters from one retaining wall to another and a maximum height of 81 meters above the valley, Studenčica is the longer and higher bridge. Four superstructures are placed on a total of five pillars, each 12.4 meters wide, with a distance of 120 meters between them.

Trebižat, with its length of 365 meters and a maximum height of 59.5 meters, is a smaller bridge and requires only three pillars. For the construction of these bridges, Doka uses a total of ten cantilever cranes, eight of which are used on the Studeniča bridge and two on the Trebižat bridge. Thanks to Doka's cantilever cranes, the work was completed eight weeks earlier - this author explained.

Work on this section began in June 2012, and the route was financed by an EBRD loan of 62 million euros. The works were carried out by the Czech JV OHL ŽS and the Bosnian company Niskogradnja from Laktaši.

With these ten kilometers, Bosnia and Herzegovina will have a total of 72 km of modern highway, writes NAP.