Two months ago, the mayor of Belgrade announced the reconstruction of Republic Square, including the construction of a roundabout with a clock in the center. Since then, however, no changes have been made at the central city intersection. The latest update – work on the roundabout at the Square will begin soon.
Belgrade will soon have another roundabout, announced Mayor Aleksandar Šapić in mid-December 2024 during a press conference where he presented five projects aimed at improving the city’s traffic situation.
“In two months, or by the end of February at the latest, we will complete all five projects that will improve Belgrade’s traffic image,” Šapić stated, adding that another roundabout would be constructed in the city center – at Republic Square.
As the mayor had announced, work on the Republic Square roundabout was supposed to begin in the first half of January. The completion of roundabouts in the city center – including two smaller ones near Terazije, Albania Palace and Nikola Pašić Square, along with the Republic Square roundabout – was expected by the end of February.
The center of the roundabout, according to the plans, should feature the Belgrade Clock, which Šapić hopes will become a new symbol of the city. However, despite the announcement made two months ago and the fact that mid-January has long passed, no progress has been made on Republic Square, except for the movement of pavement stones due to traffic.
In the latest statement from Mayor Šapić, who addressed the public last week after a long break, he announced “upcoming work on the roundabout at Republic Square.” However, the mayor did not attempt to explain why the start of the project was delayed by at least a month.
Perhaps it would have been better to finish and install the clock for the roundabout at Republic Square first, since, after all, it’s supposed to tell the time.
