The Brăila Bridge over the Danube River was inaugurated on Thursday, the Romanian Road Administration announced. Its total length of 1,975 meters makes it the second longest suspension bridge in continental Europe.

“The construction of this bridge is one of the most ambitious initiatives in achieving important objectives regarding connectivity, fluidization of transit traffic and road safety”, the Administration said in a press release.

According to Știrile.tvr.ro, officiating at the inauguration ceremony, the European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean declared that “this new transport connection will lead to economic development in the neighboring communities and will have a positive impact for the regions of Dobrogea and Moldova. In addition, the bridge has increased importance in the current geopolitical context of the war in Ukraine. Boosting the infrastructure capacity in the Danube region is vital to improving security at the level of the European Union and to ensuring the transport of goods transiting Romania to and from Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova”.

The bridge is designed to have a lifespan of 120 years and has a control center that will permanently monitor the structure via 50 sensors installed at key points.