Drivers between Solin and Split will soon get a new river crossing, and the project has just hit its first real milestone. Contractor Texo Molior has poured 576 cubic metres of concrete in the first three weeks of work on the new Jadro Bridge at the Širina junction, with the total expected to pass 1,000 cubic metres by the end of the following week if the pace holds.
Around 50 workers and engineers are on site, building at five separate locations at once. Depending on the spot, crews are excavating, tying steel reinforcement or assembling formwork. The focus right now is the lower structure — the foundations and piers that will eventually carry the steel span. A single foundation has already absorbed 280 cubic metres of concrete, another 240 have gone into an element tying the deep pile foundations together, and 56 cubic metres sit in the final load-bearing sections of the piers.
The steel side of the project runs in parallel. Detailed designs for fabrication are being drawn up now; once they're done, the project moves into procurement, workshop production and corrosion protection, with finished components trucked to site, assembled into bigger sections and lifted onto the completed supports.
For locals this is the big one: the Širina junction is a daily artery for people commuting between Solin, Split and the surrounding area. Some construction phases will force changes to traffic arrangements, and Texo Molior, working with investor Hrvatske ceste, has committed to announcing these in advance so drivers can plan around them.
Why should holidaymakers care? Solin sits just inland of Split, and the Širina junction sits on the route many visitors take heading into or out of the city — including anyone driving up the coast or towards the Dinaric hinterland, and those heading to Solin's own drawcards like the ancient ruins of Salona. Expect occasional diversions or slowdowns around the junction over the coming year: the first phase, completing the new bridge itself, has a planned construction period of 12 months. If you're renting a car in Split during that window, it's worth checking local traffic updates before setting out, especially in summer when volumes are already high.
Beyond the practicalities, it's a sign of steady investment in the Split area's road network — good news for a region that creaks under peak-season traffic. The bridge won't change your holiday on its own, but smoother flow at a key junction should make getting between Split, Solin and the coastal roads a little less painful once the steel span is in place.
