New bridge to link Hungary with Slovakia

An Ipoly bridge has been opened between Hungary and Slovakia, on one side at Őrhalom and on the other at Ipolyvarbo, which will make life easier for border communities and is also important for economic development, it was announced at a press conference on 1 December.

The crossing and the connecting road on the Hungarian side were designed by Hídépítő Zrt., while the bridge was designed by FŐMTERV Zrt.. You can read more about the design work in in this article. While in 2010 there were only twenty-two border crossing points between the two countries, today the thirty-ninth has been opened.

The project, co-financed by the EU with HUF 2.5 billion, includes the construction of a 30.5 metre bridge and 1,100 metres of road in Hungary and 400 metres in Slovakia.

An undignified situation has been reported

At the event, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said that it is the strategic task of the Hungarian state to ensure that there are as many crossing opportunities as possible between Hungary and Slovakia. "This is good for Slovakia, good for Hungary, good for Slovaks and good for Hungarians on both sides of the border."

He pointed out that an unjust state of affairs was being charged,

It was at least half an hour's drive between Ipolyvarbó and Őrhalom, avoiding 23-24 kilometres, and now it's down to a few minutes, a few hundred metres.

„This is the thirty-ninth crossing point, but we are not stopping there,” said the minister, adding that another crossing point will be opened at Drégelypalánk early next year. As we previously reported, the work here will be carried out by Colas Közlekedésépítő Zrt., Colas Út Zrt for the construction of the Hungarian connecting road, and BVT-STAV s.r.o. for the Slovak connecting road. The permit plans were prepared by Speciálterv Kft, while the implementation plans were prepared by Roden Mérnöki Iroda Kft. and Pont-Terv Zrt..