Dry Bridge

Dry Bridge

Dry Bridge (Serbian Мост на сувом, Суви мост) is a bridge in Zrenjanin, Serbia. It is a unique bridge because it currently does not span any physical obstacle, since the flow of the river under it was diverted.

History

The bridge was built in 1962 by the project of engineer Rada Janjatov, as a suspension bridge. Its purpose was to connect Zrenjanin city center with Mala Amerika quarter. Two holding towers, one on the north side and the other on the south side, are made of steel and concrete. The northern tower is an 23-meter-high pylon, while the southern tower is A-shaped and 16 meters high. The suspension cable is made of 102 steel wires.

Without the river

In 1985, city authorities decided to fill in the secondary bed of the Begej river. A dike between two lakes of the former Begej bed was built at the bridge site, and 23 years after being built, Dry Bridge lost its purpose.

Today

As of 2008^[update], 23 years since the filling of the river, the bridge still stands, although rusty and in bad condition. City authorities plan to demolish Dry Bridge since it does not have any purpose and for safety reasons. Some residents claim that Dry Bridge has become an ironic symbol of Zrenjanin, and should not be demolished, on the basis that it is the only bridge in the world that does not span any kind of physical obstacle; this is untrue, however, as Trinity Bridge is another example.

References

• Image of the bridge
• About the bridge (In Serbian)
• Dry Bridge

Coordinates: 45°22′54″N 20°23′1″E / 45.38167°N 20.38361°E / 45.38167; 20.38361