The construction of a new railway bridge over the Tamiš River, located between the Zrenjanin villages of Orlovat and Tomaševac, is progressing well. The pouring of concrete for both main pillars and support pillars has been completed, and on the right bank of the river, the installation of the first of three segments of the new bridge’s structure is underway. Temporary pillars have been placed for the bridge’s construction, and the section of the railway leading up to the new bridge has been marked.
The construction of the supporting pillars began in August of last year when the Tamiš River’s water level was at its lowest. The new bridge is being built close to the existing one, in order to maintain as much of the current railway profile as possible, according to the City of Zrenjanin.
Zrenjanin Mayor Simo Salapura has described the construction of the railway bridge over the Tamiš River as a significant infrastructure project, adding that it will not be the only one on this part of the river.
“In this area, just 100 meters apart, we will have three bridges in the future. One will be a road bridge that still needs to be built, and negotiations for its construction are ongoing. The second is the old combined railway and road bridge, which will be converted into a pedestrian and bicycle bridge, and the third is this railway bridge, part of the reconstructed railway line from Belgrade and Pančevo, through Zrenjanin, to Kikinda, with a branch line to Subotica. The work is progressing on schedule, and for us, it is especially important because we will also have a good railway connection to future routes, which will boost Zrenjanin’s economic potential. I thank the contractors, the state, and the relevant ministry for funding this project,” said Salapura.
As for the project’s completion timeline, the plan is to finish everything by the end of August or the beginning of September. According to the construction site, the most challenging part of the job involved the positioning of the bridge’s pillars, especially pillars 2 and 3, which are located in the riverbed. In the next 10 to 15 days, the installation of the first 40-meter bridge segment is expected, with the total length of the bridge being 120 meters.
On the Tomaševac side, the embankment is 790 meters long, while on the Orlovat side, it is 330 meters long. The average height of the embankment is 5 meters, with the highest point reaching 5.5 meters.
Once the first segment of the bridge is installed on the bank, it will be pulled onto the pillars using hydraulic devices, and a similar procedure will be repeated for the remaining two segments of the bridge.
As mentioned earlier, the plan is for the old combined road and railway bridge, which dates back to 1880 and is a cultural and historical monument, to be converted into a pedestrian and bicycle bridge, providing an additional tourist attraction for the Banat region and the City of Zrenjanin.
The investor in the construction of the new bridge is the Serbian Railway Infrastructure, while the construction work is being carried out by a consortium of companies: Extra Auto Transport, Bricken d.o.o., and ZGOP d.o.o. The estimated total cost of the project is 1,182,076,299 dinars (approximately 10 million euros), excluding VAT. The railway bridge will be part of the regional railway line number 202, which runs from the main station in Pančevo, through Zrenjanin, to Kikinda.
