Pelješac bridge – design and maintenance

Abstract

The Pelješac Bridge is currently the largest bridge under construction in Croatia and in the wider region. The construction began in July 2018 (for the second time), and the bridge should be completed in 36 months. The design work for the bridge started in 2004. Various bridge alternatives were considered during preliminary studies, preliminary design and main design activities. The bridge is located in a high-activity seismic zone with strong winds, and is realised in extremely adverse foundation soil conditions, and in aggressive maritime environment. The multi-span extradosed semi-integral bridge with steel deck was finally chosen for the main design and construction. The history of design, final design and maintenance of the bridge is presented in the paper.