Romanian Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said today that the first steps have been taken towards the construction of a new bridge over the Danube River in the Giurgiu-Ruse region, reports Agerpres, quoted by BTA.
During a visit to the under-construction section of the A7 Buzau-Focsani motorway in eastern Romania, the minister was asked about traffic on the bridge over the Danube River at Giurgiu-Ruse, considering that the Bulgarian side is carrying out repair work on the bridge, as well as about the use of a ferry as an alternative option. In this context, Grindeanu indicated that a feasibility study has been prepared for the construction of a new bridge over the Danube River.
"We are talking about a ferry, which cannot replace a bridge. I have seen a lot of publications by journalists recently related to crossing the bridge (…) I understood that there are periods when you wait 15-20 minutes, you don't stand for hours. (…) Those who think that you wait on the bridge because there is no working ferry, things are not on the Romanian side, but on the Bulgarian side", Grindeanu explained.
When asked at what stage the project for the construction of a second bridge over the Danube River at Giurgiu-Ruse is, the minister said: "We submitted and it was approved under the Connecting Europe Facility – this is how all European projects begin, with a feasibility study – we submitted it and it was approved. A new bridge over the Danube, to duplicate the existing bridge, is European-funded.