Đurđevića Tara in a new look in 2027.

Tourists climbing onto a scaffold above the canyon for a photo, snow in October and summer days in November, trucks that do not respect the roadblocks and minor conflicts, traffic jams, complex and demanding works, are just some of the events that marked the first year of works on the reconstruction of the Đurđevića Tara bridge.

Although the renovation of the 170-meter-high and 365-meter-long bridge is a serious engineering undertaking, the work under the watchful eye of the Tara Canyon is further complicated by the summer heat and the hustle and bustle created by the anthill of visitors and cars, who are milling around on the access roads from the Pljevlja and Žabljak sides, taking photos and waiting for the ramps to open to continue their journey.

The bridge's reconstruction, through a donation of 7,05 million euros, is being carried out by the People's Republic of China through the company "Shandong Luqiao Group", while the domestic Traffic Administration is in charge of supervising the work. The bridge was built in 1940 and is located in the "Durmitor" National Park, and this is where its complexity lies, because all decisions, phases and potential works, relocation of scaffolding and machinery, must be agreed upon by the contractor, the Administration, National Parks, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage...

"Vijesti" also saw for themselves during a visit to this historic building that Chinese workers were working on the scaffolding in parallel while tourists were entering the bridge despite the ramps and the prohibition sign.

The bridge will be closed until the fall.

Coordinator and project manager for the Transport Authority Radojica Poleksić, explained that the works are currently a few percent above plan and that about 60 percent of the work has been completed. He emphasized that the bridge and access roads, which are about a kilometer long in total, are being renovated, that the project is extremely complex and demanding, and that there were many problems, which they were resolving with the contractor.

Poleskić pointed out that the main works are expected to be completed by the end of the year, while the occupancy permit is expected by July 2027.

"Problems arise every day, these are problems of a technical nature that we solve by holding meetings, commenting, obtaining consent and opinions from all competent institutions. To date, there have been many challenges regarding the scaffolding and technical matters that we have successfully solved so far, and I hope that we will solve other problems that will arise by the end of this project. The biggest shock for me was when the scaffolding was rolled up on the first field and when, upon arriving at the construction site, I saw tourists taking selfies and taking photos on it. This is an everyday occurrence, we cannot prohibit it in any way. Honestly, nowhere in the world can you see a facility like this being reconstructed while allowing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Due to the local population and the importance of the bridge, we made compromises and adjusted the execution of the works, so that the bridge would be functional as much as possible, but also significantly hindered the contractor in its dynamics," Poleksić emphasized.

He added that they contacted the Ministry of Internal Affairs to help, because freight traffic was banned during the repair of the pillars and arches, but trucks continued to pass, so patrols were set up, and the situation improved.

However, as he says, there will be no more such scenarios because the bridge will soon be completely closed for about two and a half months, and he hopes that the weather conditions will be suitable for carrying out some of the planned work on the roadway. Poleksić added that as a civil engineer, it is an honor and pleasure for him to participate in the reconstruction of the bridge and that it is the highlight of his career, but that he takes his breath away every time he gets a call from Tara from the thought that something has happened due to the complexity of the work. He pointed out that there is always a risk because the scaffolding also has limitations, so only five people can stand on one part of it at the same time.

Poleksić also stressed that China accepted the project because of historical war films, that the work is being managed by their Agency for International Economic Cooperation, while Montenegro is carrying out quality control, issuing the building permit and accompanying studies - so 200.000 euros have been invested so far. He announced that after the works are completed, he will decide in consultation with the conservators whether decorative lighting will be installed, while a lookout point is also planned on the Žabljak side of the coast near the bridge.

Climate dictates everything

The contractor "Shandong Luqiao Group" was required by the Law on Construction of Facilities to employ Montenegrin engineers, and one of them Konstantin Dragovic said that it was a great honor for him to work on this project, especially since he belongs to the younger generation that is taking over the knowledge and experience of older colleagues. He emphasized that he appreciates the opportunity, but that their days are mixed and dynamic due to communication with the investor, supervision, occupational health and safety, coordination with locals...

When asked about memorable events during the works, he pointed out that during the first traffic stop, he heard many different excuses from citizens who wanted to cross the bridge, including that their lunch had burned...

"That was the most memorable thing for me, because from that and our kindness to meet the needs, abuse began. And later from that abuse that we wanted to stop, there were some potential problems and conflicts. Most certainly respected the measures, so now there are no problems in that regard. I will not bid on dates, but after the closure, we plan to return the bridge to function as early as mid-October. We will carry out other works if weather conditions allow, because the Tara Canyon is such that they cannot be predicted. Last year we had snow in October, and then summer weather.... That is the climate of the microlocation and we cannot be sure what will happen," he said, adding that around 70 workers from investors and domestic subcontractors work on the bridge, and that there will be that many in the future.

The project is supervised by the company "Construction Supervision and Laboratory Testing", and their engineer Milan Krstic confirmed that the works are slightly ahead of schedule, that the job is challenging and the bridge is structurally unsurpassed. He pointed out that the bridge is 86 years old, that it has suffered a lot of traffic, wars, damage and repairs, but that even after the renovation, it will remain in use for another half a century.

"The reconstruction of the bridge is very demanding, complicated, and we have also used new materials to improve the load-bearing capacity of the bridge, such as carbon strips and other rehabilitation materials. After the rehabilitation, the bridge will be usable for about 50 more years, but there will be restrictions for freight traffic, because trucks are significantly heavier than they used to be, so the bridge will remain a tourist attraction for light traffic. This will be defined and indicated through traffic signals... Our working days begin with meetings where we determine what we are going to do and control, tests are carried out in all phases of the project...", said Krstić.

The directors want to "destroy" again

During the visit, "Vijesti" attended one of the smaller meetings of those responsible for this project, and the work is extremely complex because every detail is negotiated with multiple parties, translation into Chinese is done, and responsibilities, costs, and further steps are determined.

This, however, is not felt by those who visit this place, because despite the sun being at its zenith, this concrete building was visited by a large number of tourists who used the time to take photos and walk along the bridge. Among the numerous visitors, a couple from Great Britain said that they were happy that they managed to visit the bridge before it was closed. They stated that they were in Montenegro for seven days and that they were staying on the coast, while they came to the north of the country solely to visit this place.

"We planned one day for this trip and we did not regret coming at all. This is truly a historic building and you should be happy to have such a landmark in Montenegro. We were at Lake Skadar and we plan to visit Black Lake as well," they said.

Among the tourists were many from oriental countries, namely Japan, Korea, China and others, while some of them said that they did not know that a company from that part of the world was carrying out the reconstruction of such an important project. The canyon and the bridge also attracted tourists from Spain, who said that they visited Montenegro solely for the scenery and that they were absolutely not disappointed.

Although none of the tourists with whom "Vijesti" spoke mentioned the films, the restoration of the bridge and its use for at least another half century, with the eventual entry into the European Union, Montenegro could once again have the opportunity to see Đurđević's Tara on the big screen. The bridge certainly inspires eyes and minds around the world, because between the 1960s and 1970s, two films were shot at this location - the Yugoslav "The Bridge" and the British-American "The Force from Navarone", both with the theme of its demolition.

Such a striking bridge and its five concrete arches in a new guise, inspire hope that in addition to car wheels, tourist footprints and viewpoints, film crews could once again walk along the slopes of the Tara Canyon...

They do less business, but they are patient.

There are several souvenir shops, restaurants, zip lines and other small businesses around the bridge on Đurđevića Tara. During a visit to the bridge, "Vijesti" spoke with one of the owners of these facilities, who unofficially said that their visits are not yet at their previous level, but that they expect this to change after the reconstruction is completed.

He emphasized that the visits were made more difficult due to changes in traffic patterns, and that there was dust during the work on the arches and pillars of the bridge, which made it difficult for them at times.

"Traffic has decreased, but I think we will make up for it after the work is finished. It is impossible without patience, because traffic is being allowed to pass alternately for two hours, so the queues are long and people are nervous about waiting, which causes problems for everyone. We believe that it will be finished next year, so we can get back to our old business," he said.

He announced that he expects the bridge to be much more beautiful after the renovation, which should increase the number of tourists.

There has been no work since 1986.

The Đurđevića Tara Bridge was built from 1938 to 1940, while the contractor was the Belgrade company “Andonović” from Belgrade. The design of the bridge was selected based on an international competition announced by the Ministry of Construction of the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1937, and the design chosen was that of Professor Mijat Trojanović.

The bridge reconstruction work officially began in July last year and is planned to be completed in eight months, with the proviso that reconstruction will not be carried out during the winter months due to weather conditions.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) signed an Agreement with the Government of Montenegro in 2018 regarding the reconstruction of the Đurđevića Tara Bridge, while the legal basis for the start of the project implementation is the conclusion of a financial donation agreement signed in December 2020.

The last reconstruction of the bridge was carried out in 1986, when defects and damage that threatened the concrete structure of the bridge were removed.

On March 21st of last year, the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property issued a building permit to the Traffic Administration for the reconstruction of this bridge.