Romania's road authority CNAIR and bridge builder WeBuild have inspected 35,000 out of approximately 100,000 bolts on the new Brăila bridge over the Danube and found 70 loose ones, according to a statement from the road company. 

Inspections will continue to ensure that each one is tightened according to technical standards, CNAIR further stated, cited by Economedia.ro. 

The authorities decided to check the bolts after a video surfaced showing a pedestrian unscrewing several bolts that CNAIR said were "loose" but were actually not fastened at all. 

CNAIR's head, Cristian Pistol, asked the Italian building company WeBuild to take the contract between the two entities seriously. Pistol "emphasized that the bridge will be accepted only if it adheres to the quality standards outlined in the contract with CNAIR."

Alin Șerbănescu, a spokesperson for the road company, said that the loose bolts do not represent a resistance issue that would affect the safety of traffic on the bridge: "It's a matter of negligence. Normally, when there are screws, you take them from one end and tighten them one by one. Probably, they had multiple teams [working]. The teams weren't divided into sections as they should have been, and they effectively omitted to tighten certain screws. Measures should be taken to tighten these screws. There's no risk of the bridge collapsing."

The bridge in Brăila, one of Romania's most important infrastructure projects in recent years, was inaugurated a month ago but has already witnessed its share of irregularities. Transport minister Sorin Grindeanu and CNAIR blamed carriers who do not respect weight limits and restrictions, but they did not rule out a problem with the asphalt laying. Constructor WeBuild also has not yet removed the cranes from the four bridge pillars, even though since mid-July, the bridge has been closed at night during the week. The constructor has until the end of November to do so.

Member of the European Parliament Vlad Botoş, vice president of the Regional Development Committee and part of the reformist opposition party USR, recently sent a letter to Commissioner Elisa Ferreira, responsible for Cohesion and Reforms within the European Commission, regarding the adherence to safety requirements concerning the Brăila Bridge, constructed with European funds. He maintains that "non-compliance with safety measures, inadequate screws, and improperly poured asphalt could have disastrous effects on those who use the bridge."

Botoş requested information from the European Commissioner regarding the safety requirements that all projects funded by European Union funds must adhere to "to shed light on this controversial subject," according to Digi24.

The Brăila bridge over the Danube, one of the largest suspension bridges in Europe, the largest over the Danube, and Romania's biggest infrastructure investment of the last 30 years, was officially inaugurated on July 6. Nicknamed Romania's Golden Gate, it has a total length of 1,974.3 meters, with a main span of 1,120 m and two side spans of about 490 m and 365 m long.

Works on the new bridge took about five years, and the updated value of the project exceeded RON 2.5 billion (over EUR 500 million). The EU contribution to this project amounted to EUR 363 million from cohesion policy funds.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/George Calin)