Bridge over Kaštela Bay: the winning solution opens a new chapter for Split, Kaštela and the entire agglomeration
The selection of the winning solution for the new bridge over Kaštela Bay is one of the more important infrastructure moments for the wider Split area in the past few years. It is an undertaking that is not viewed merely as another road structure, but as an integral part of a much larger transport and urban reconfiguration of the space between Split, Kaštela, Trogir, the airport and the A1 motorway. According to the decision published after the international competition conducted by Hrvatske ceste, first place was won by the Zagreb architectural studio 3LHD and the Slovenian design office Pipenbaher Inženirji, the team that proposed a bridge approximately 1,600 metres long with two slender pylons and a central span of 400 metres. This concluded one important competition phase, but at the same time opened a new stage of discussion about what the future northern entrance to Split should be like, what traffic benefits the project could bring, and how it will affect the skyline and identity of Kaštela Bay.
The location of the bridge itself explains why interest in this project is so great. For years, Kaštela Bay has been one of the most burdened transport and logistics areas on the Croatian coast. It is where the everyday needs of residents intersect with tourist traffic towards Split and Trogir, routes to Saint Jerome Airport, flows towards the ferry port, the industrial functions of the North Port and energy infrastructure, as well as long-term development plans linked to Kopilica and the transformation of the northern part of the city. That is precisely why the new bridge is not conceived as an isolated structure, but as a key segment of the project “New entrance to Split – Vučevica interchange (A1) – Kozjak tunnel – interchange on DC8 – Split Ferry Port”, a strategic transport route that the Government of the Republic of Croatia had already given institutional support to earlier. In practice, this means that the bridge is not viewed only through the question of architecture and engineering, but through its ability to relieve the existing approaches to the city and open a new logic of movement through the entire agglomeration.
A new entrance to the city and a different transport reading of the northern coast
One of the fundamental values of the winning entry is that it recognises the bridge as a new spatial axis, and not merely as a technical crossing over the sea. For a large number of people arriving in Split from the direction of Trogir, Kaštela or the airport, that bridge could become the first strong visual contact with the city. In other words, the project defines a new northern entrance to Split and changes the way the city is read from the direction of the bay. Instead of today’s fragmented image of industrial zones, coastal installations and traffic junctions, the competition solution attempts to establish a clear and recognisable point of arrival, a kind of maritime gateway to the future metropolitan whole.
Such an approach is not without urban planning weight. For decades, Split developed with a pronounced reliance on the southern coast, the historic core and the seafront facing the open waters. The northern side of the city, although important in traffic and economic terms, largely remained marked by infrastructure service functions, railways, port functions and industrial heritage. The bridge over Kaštela Bay therefore also carries a symbolic moment within itself: it does not connect only two shores, but potentially initiates a new valuation of a space that was long treated as the city’s backdrop. If that process continues through planning documents and accompanying interventions, the northern shore of the bay could gradually grow into a new urban frontage of the wider Split area.
Two pylons as the new skyline of the bay
The visual identity of the winning entry relies on two pylons 157 metres high. Their slender and faceted form is one of the most noticeable elements of the solution, and the authors interpret it as a contemporary reinterpretation of the crystalline structure of Dalmatian limestone, a material deeply inscribed in the identity of Split and its building history. This is also the project’s most important architectural ambition: to create a structure that will be recognisable, but not arbitrarily monumental; strong in silhouette, yet sufficiently purified so that it does not appear as an aggressive intrusion into the sensitive landscape of the bay.
In the Croatian context, such an approach is immediately compared with large bridges that have also become symbols of the spaces in which they are located. However, in Kaštela Bay the task is more sensitive than it seems at first glance. This is a space where the same frame contains historic Split, Kaštela, industrial complexes, port cranes, ships, terminals and the wide profile of Kozjak. That is why every new vertical accent is necessarily also an urban planning statement. The winning entry clearly counts on the pylons becoming a new sign of recognition for the northern shore, while at the same time seeking to retain an impression of slenderness and structural discipline so that the bridge keeps its scale in relation to the panorama.
According to the available descriptions of the competition solution, the pylons rise from the sea and connect above the deck structure, thereby carrying a recognisable static and aesthetic role. Such a composition gives the bridge a very clean silhouette and at the same time suggests a serious structural ambition. In public, the thesis has already appeared that the bridge, precisely because of its appearance and position, could become one of Dalmatia’s new iconic points. Whether that will truly happen will also depend on the later phases of design, details of execution, materialisation and the final relationship to the wider space, but it is already clear that this is not a neutral transport structure without identity.
The bridge as a roadway, but also as a public space above the sea
One of the elements that set the competition solution apart from the competition is the treatment of the bridge as a public space. In addition to four traffic lanes, the project also envisages pedestrian and bicycle corridors located on the outer side of the bridge and recessed below the level of the main roadway. In this way, the authors want to achieve a dual effect: to protect users from noise, wind gusts and vehicle lights, while at the same time allowing them an immediate experience of the bay, the sea and the city panorama. At certain widened sections, especially in the pylon zone, viewpoints and stopping points are envisaged, so the bridge ceases to be merely a place of passage and becomes a place of stay.
This is still a relatively rare step forward in domestic infrastructure projects. As a rule, large bridges are designed exclusively from the logic of transport and safety, while pedestrian or cycling functions are secondary or entirely omitted. Here the situation is reversed: the recreational dimension is not merely an addition, but an integral part of the project’s identity. In public descriptions, the bridge is also mentioned as a kind of “fitness trail” above the sea, with four viewpoints that could also serve as gathering places during regattas, sporting events or other mass moments in the city. Such a concept fits into the contemporary trend according to which large infrastructure is no longer necessarily a closed technical system, but can also have a social and urban function.
Of course, only more detailed project elaboration will show how executable and safe that public aspect will be, especially in conditions of strong winds, summer loads and high traffic frequency. But the competition proposal itself already shows the ambition not to reduce the crossing of the bay to a few minutes of driving by car, but to open the bridge also to pedestrians and cyclists as a new experiential corridor between the two shores.
Engineering concept: slender structure and demanding construction conditions
From the structural aspect, this is a cable-stayed bridge with a central span of 400 metres. According to publicly available descriptions, the stays are organised in a single central plane, which enables a very slender deck structure and a visually purified silhouette. Such a solution also clearly defines the navigation axis and leaves a sufficiently open and legible space for maritime traffic. Media reports also state that a free navigable route is planned below the bridge for ships docking at the North Port and INA terminal, which further shows how much the project had to reconcile road, maritime and safety requirements.
It is precisely this combination of infrastructural functions that makes the project particularly demanding. Kaštela Bay is not only an attractive landscape space, but also a serious port-traffic system with its own rules, limitations and sensitivities. The bridge therefore has to meet an entire series of criteria: from stability in conditions of strong and gusty winds, through seismic resistance, to long-term maintenance in an aggressive marine environment. The descriptions of the winning entry particularly emphasise that great attention was devoted to aerodynamic stability and seismic safety, which is not merely a formal remark, but a necessity for a structure of this span and location.
Cost estimates also attract additional attention. According to the published data from the competition procedure, the estimated construction cost amounts to around 223 million euros, while maintenance during the projected service life of one hundred years is estimated at around 125.1 million euros. Those figures themselves show that this is a project of the first infrastructure league, which, if realised, will require long-term financial discipline, clear phasing and precise planning. They also remind us that the question of the bridge is no longer only a matter of architectural attractiveness, but also of the ability of the state and the investor to carry out a major project without improvisation.
Regional industry and possible economic effects
Particularly interesting is the part of the competition narrative that opens the possibility of stronger involvement of local and regional production. According to the presented concept, the steel sections of the bridge could be manufactured in the Split shipyard, while certain concrete elements could be produced in Kaštela. Such an approach has several levels of meaning. First, it reduces the need for long transport routes and associated emissions. Second, it ties the project to the existing industrial base of the area in which it is being created, so that infrastructure is not imposed as something external, but uses local production capacities. Third, such an organisation can open up additional economic benefits for the wider region, especially if a larger part of the preparation and prefabrication is indeed successfully localised.
At the same time, there should be no romanticising of the effects of one project nor prematurely proclaiming an industrial revival. But the fact is that large bridges traditionally pull a wide chain of work behind them: from design and geotechnical investigations, through the production of elements and logistics, to supervision, maintenance and accompanying communal infrastructure. In the case of Split and Kaštela this is additionally important because the bridge appears in a space that for decades lived off strong but changeable industrial systems. If the project is managed thoughtfully, it could create synergy between contemporary infrastructure and local competences that still exist in the region.
Why the selection of 3LHD and Pipenbaher matters
The selection of the author team also carries its own weight. Studio 3LHD is among the best-known Croatian architectural offices when it comes to projects that simultaneously operate in the fields of architecture, urbanism, design and public space. In the Split area, their signature is already well known, which gives the selection additional local resonance. On the other hand, Pipenbaher Inženirji specialise in large-span bridges and demanding engineering structures, and their founder Marjan Pipenbaher is particularly recognised in the wider public as the designer of the Pelješac Bridge. On the company’s official website, the Pelješac Bridge is listed among the references, while the company itself points out that it provides specialised design services for long-span bridges and other complex structures.
That combination of architectural and bridge-engineering experience was probably one of the reasons why the competition jury assessed the solution as the best. In major infrastructure projects, it is precisely the collaboration of architects and structural engineers that determines whether the final result will be merely technically correct or will also have public, symbolic and spatial value. In Kaštela Bay, that combination was particularly important, because it was necessary to offer a bridge that is neither a mere sculpture nor a mere utilitarian structure, but an object capable of responding to the complex context of the space.
What follows after the competition
Although the winning solution has already attracted public attention, it is important to emphasise that the competition does not mean the imminent start of construction. According to earlier announcements by Hrvatske ceste, after the selection of the optimal conceptual solution, further design and environmental procedures follow, including the preparation of an environmental impact study and other steps without which such a demanding intervention cannot reach the implementation phase. This means that the final appearance, technical details, dynamics and financial structure of the bridge will still go through several levels of verification, harmonisation and administrative procedures.
This is precisely where the project’s political weight lies. Split and the wider agglomeration have for years lived with chronic traffic pressures, especially at the peak of the tourist season, when the existing approaches to the city reach the limits of endurance. That is why every larger transport infrastructure project is expected to provide both a quick solution and visible progress. But experience shows that the most attractive interventions are often also the slowest, because they are slowed down by complex procedures, property-law relations, environmental assessments, financial decisions and coordination with other projects. In the case of the bridge over Kaštela Bay, the public will therefore rightly follow not only the visuals and presentations, but also how efficiently the institutions will lead the next steps.
The bridge over Kaštela Bay is therefore already more than a competition winner and an architectural image that looks good in visualisations. It is a test of the ability to translate one great idea into a feasible, sustainable and publicly useful project. If it succeeds, Split and Kaštela will gain a new transport link, a new skyline and a new public space above the sea. If it gets stuck in procedures, it will remain just another impressive image of unrealised infrastructure potential. For now, however, it is clear that the competition has produced a solution that has opened a serious discussion about the future face of the bay and about how the northern coast of Split could finally receive the urban planning and transport role it has long deserved.
Sources:- Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure – official announcement on the Government’s support for the “New entrance to Split” project and its transport context- Jutarnji list – report on the competition decision, the number of submitted entries, the basic dimensions of the bridge and the navigational profile- Dalmatian Portal – data on the estimated construction and maintenance costs and an explanation of the value of the winning solution- tportal – earlier announcements by Hrvatske ceste on further design and environmental procedures after the selection of the bridge solution- 3LHD – official information about the architectural studio and its portfolio of infrastructure and public projects- Pipenbaher Consulting Engineers – official data about the company, its specialisation in demanding structures and the establishment of the office- Pipenbaher Consulting Engineers – official company references, including the Pelješac Bridge as one of the highlighted projects
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