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ACROSS THE BRIDGE ONLY ON FOOT

29. October 2014.

Under a decision of the Republican Inspection for State Roads, which was reached this February, vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes are forbidden from using the bridge in Medvedja, which connects Trstenik and Krusevac, due to the age of the bridge.  The problem hasn’t been resolved to this very day, which particularly affects about twenty thousand inhabitants of the surrounding villages, who regularly use bus transportation. 

The old railway bridge over the Mijajlovacka River in Medvedja was brought  from Leskovac, so that three districts, which include the Rasina, Raska and Pomoravlje ones, could be connected by means of a state road.  

“The bridge was put up back in 1953. It has never been painted. Iron comes to nothing if it is not painted.  And the same happens to the man if he doesn’t take his medications”, says Dragomir Terzic from Medvedja.   

Time and neglect took their toll. The bridge supports are dilapidated, while nine months ago, the inspection banned the traffic on the bridge of all the vehicles heavier than 3.5 tonnes.  Since then, passengers who use the bus, have to transfer themselves and cross the bridge on foot several times a day, because of which they are outraged.

They think that mostly the old and sick suffer unfairly because of that, as well as students and employees , who are often late due to transferring themselves from the bus on one side of the river  to the bus on the other side of it. The advent of winter and bad weather is one more reason for concern and discontent, but bus carriers are equally affected by such a situation.  

“We surely lose one hour a day for each of the 15 departures.  This considerably increases our costs. “Jugprevoz” uses two vehicles for each departure.  One bus waits on one side and the other bus on the other side, so that after “loading” the passengers, they could transport them to their desired destinations,” says Goran Velickovic, a driver of “Jugoprevoz” from Krusevac.

Although most citizens believe that the municipality of Trstenik, which Medvedja belongs to in terms of its territory, bears the responsibility for the situation, things stand differently. In accordance with the law, care for the bridge located on the public road is the responsibility of the “Roads of Serbia” public enterprise.  

“We, as a local self-government, insisted on repairing the bridge as soon as possible, so that the traffic over it could take place smoothly. We haven’t received the answer to that question for six months! I know that the project has been done and that they should move forward with repairing it. I really don’t know when that will be. We, as local self-government, tried to make an alternative route. However , that route can’t be used for freight and bus traffic, which is now a problem  for the citizens of the municipality of Trstenik,” said Miroslav Aleksic,  the mayor of Trstenik.  

The RTS TV Centre in Krusevac didn’t receive a precise answer to the question.  People form the “Roads of Serbia” enterprise said that if the weather conditions permitted, completion of the works, which hadn’t yet started, was expected by November 15, or before the winter road maintenance service started operating.

Despite the ban, many freighters, in order to save the time and money, pass over the bridge, thereby risking their own safety and that of other people, while no one sanctions it.  

Source: Serbian Broadcasting Corporation and Coordination Body