Modern & artDobruja & the Black Sea

Cernavodă Bridge: the 1987 motorway and rail crossing of the Danube

The Cernavodă Bridge is a complex of two steel truss bridges that carry the A2 motorway and the Bucharest to Constanța railway across the Danube between Cernavodă and Fetești, in Romania. Opened in 1987, it links Dobruja with Muntenia and stands right next to the older Anghel Saligny Bridge.

Cars on the A2 motorway and trains to the Black Sea cross the Danube on the same bridge, with the motorway lanes on either side of the rails, just metres from the old Anghel Saligny bridge.

WhereOver the Danube between Cernavodă (Dobruja) and Fetești (Muntenia)

TypeCombined road and rail steel truss bridge, opened in 1987

Best forEngineering history and views of the Danube and the old Anghel Saligny Bridge

Getting thereOn the A2 motorway and the Bucharest–Constanța railway; Capidava is about 18 km away

The history of the Cernavodă Bridge

In the 1970s growing international freight, with the port of Constanța as the main gateway to the country, overloaded Romania’s roads and railways. Road traffic crossed the Danube on the Giurgeni–Vadu Oii bridge, on a national road with one lane in each direction that passes through many villages. Trains crossed on the old bridges built by Anghel Saligny over the Borcea branch and the Danube, which were limited to a single track. New bridges were needed near Fetești and Cernavodă.

The site at Cernavodă was fixed upstream of Saligny’s bridge, between 30 and 80 metres from it. The choice shortened the road distance between Bucharest and Constanța by 42 kilometres, because it avoided the detour via Giurgeni. A motorway was planned too, so the new road bridge was designed with two carriageways of two lanes each. The railway bridge, placed between them, was designed for two tracks, as the line was to be doubled, electrified and automated.

Work at Cernavodă began in 1980, while the similar bridge at Fetești had started in 1976. The design came from the railway design institute in Bucharest, and the steel decks were made in factories at Pitești, Moreni and Bocșa and at the Galați shipyard. Load tests lasted a week: 38 diesel locomotives and 38 dump trucks, each carrying more than 50 tonnes, crossed the structures. The bridge entered service in October 1987 and was officially opened on 21 November 1987.

Together the two bridges, over the Danube at Cernavodă and over the Borcea branch at Fetești, measure 2,622.85 metres, with 1,640.35 metres of them at Cernavodă. The Cernavodă crossing has 21 spans. Its main bridge is a continuous truss with spans of 140, 190 and 140 metres, and the other spans are approach viaducts. The foundations were drilled to a depth of 50 metres, and the piers were faced with Măcin granite, the hardest granite in Romania, to resist the river and the ice. The two A2 carriageways run on the left and right of the two electrified tracks of CFR Line 800.

In 2014 more than 300 cracks in the structure led to a speed limit of 30 km/h for trains, and the railway bridges at Fetești and Cernavodă were closed for rehabilitation. The works were planned to last at most 23 months but took four years, and the bridges were formally accepted on 12 July 2018. Today they carry the A2 motorway and the railway to the ports of Constanța and Mangalia.

Curiosities about the Cernavodă Bridge

The motorway and the railway share one bridge: the two A2 carriageways run on either side of the two electrified railway tracks.
The new bridge stands only 30 to 80 metres upstream of Anghel Saligny’s old bridge, so travellers can see both structures together.
Choosing this site cut the road distance between Bucharest and Constanța by 42 kilometres.
Before opening, the bridge was tested for a week by 38 diesel locomotives and 38 dump trucks, each loaded with more than 50 tonnes.
The piers are faced with Măcin granite, described as the hardest in Romania, to protect them against water and floating ice.
The western end of the bridge rests on Balta Ialomiței, a river island.

Tours near Cernavodă Bridge

Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:

GROUP Guided Day Trip to the Danube Delta, Tulcea - Letea

★ 4.8 (102 reviews) · 9 h

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Guided Birdwatching day trip to the Danube Delta - private program

★ 5 (28 reviews) · 6 h

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Danube Delta Tour from Tulcea to Mila 23, Letea Forest and Sulina

★ 4.7 (23 reviews) · 10 h

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Danube Delta PRIVATE boat trip to Letea Forest (guided tour)

★ 4.8 (16 reviews) · 9 h

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Seeing the Cernavodă Bridge: what to know

The bridge carries a motorway and a main railway, so most people see it while crossing the Danube by car or train. The sources do not describe a viewpoint or pedestrian access.
The old Anghel Saligny Bridge, another page on this site, lies right beside it, and the two are worth comparing.
The road crossing is a toll section of the A2 motorway, so check the current conditions before you drive.
Capidava (about 18 km), Tropaeum Traiani (about 27 km) and the Genoese Lighthouse (about 55 km) are the nearest other places on this site.
Transport arrangements change, so check the current timetables and road conditions before you go.

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.