Dubrovnik, Croatia: Franjo Tuđman Bridge

I can't say I've taken many walks to find a major bridge before, but this was certainly one of them. Our tour ship was docked at a spot where a good-sized bridge was clearly in sight. But how could we get? So, we were off. 

After 20 minutes, we came to the spot where we could see a good chunk of the Franjo Tudman Bridge, perhaps a mile or two from the middle of Dubrovnik. It is named after the first President of Croatia.

The bridge is about 1,700 feet long. Development of the bridge started in 1989, but the war in the region brought those plans to an abrupt halt. Construction started in 1998, and the new span was opened for business in 2002. 

The photo shows how close we could get, as the road loses its sidewalk and shoulder at this point. It's quite pretty from a distance. This bridge did wonders for the economy of Dubrovnik. Residents on the other side of the river had to drive quite a ways inland to go on a bridge to get to the other side, which meant there was a lot of "wasted" gasoline that went into getting to Dubrovnik. That bridge made commuting a lot easier. 

Here's a better perspective: