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The New Europe Bridge, previously known as the Danube Bridge 2 ((ブルガリア語:Дунав мост 2), ''Dunav most 2''), and informally called the Calafat-Vidin Bridge ((ブルガリア語:Мост Видин–Калафат), ''Most Vidin–Kalafat''; (ルーマニア語、モルドバ語():Podul Calafat–Vidin)), is a road and rail bridge between the cities of Vidin, Bulgaria and Calafat, Romania. It is the second bridge on the shared section of the Danube between the two countries. It is a cable-stayed bridge and was built by the Spanish company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, at the cost of €226 million. It was officially opened with a ceremony held on the 14th of June 2013.〔 The first vehicles were allowed to cross the bridge after midnight, on the 15th of June 2013. ==History and geography== A bridge between Calafat (in Romania) and Vidin (in Bulgaria) had been discussed since the late 1970s, but the plan was abandoned over and over again. For centuries there had been no bridges crossing the Danube river between Bulgaria and Romania since the destruction of Constantine's Bridge, which was built by the Romans, until the Giurgiu–Ruse Friendship Bridge was built and opened in 1954. During the late 1990s, Bulgaria had to close its border with Yugoslavia, because of the war in Kosovo, followed by an international economic boycott against Yugoslavia. This caused great damage to the already weak economy in northwestern Bulgaria. In fact, the whole country became isolated, since Bulgarians had always been relying on the road through Serbia for their transit transport to Western Europe. A ferry shuttle service between Vidin and Calafat runs night and day, but only when it is fully loaded with trucks. This can make for a long wait at night. Dry summers come with low water levels in the Danube river, which can cause the ferry to get stuck at the loading ramp, making waiting times even longer. Another factor that can make ferry traffic impossible or difficult are very cold winters when the Danube river sometimes freezes completely. The route from Bulgaria towards Central and Western Europe, avoiding the ferry boat and without traveling through Serbia, which is outside the European Union border, requires a long detour towards the Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge. This bridge is located downstream and it is the only other bridge across the Danube border that Bulgaria shares with Romania. This detour to Ruse often takes longer than waiting for a ferry in Vidin or Oryahovo, however, both ways of crossing the border can take a long time. Traveling through Serbia is usually faster, but crossing outside the borders of the European Union can be a hassle with customs, especially during the summer season, when lots of immigrants travel back to their families. The Danube Bridge 2 makes traveling in and out of Bulgaria through Vidin much easier than it was previously by ferry boat. The Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge was built with help from the Soviet Union and opened in 1954 as the Friendship Bridge ((ブルガリア語:Мост на дружбата), ''Most na druzhbata''). Instead of its official name, Bulgarians tend to simply call it the ''Dunav most'', which means Danube Bridge. Hence the name ''Dunav most 2'' for the second bridge crossing the Danube between Vidin and Calafat. Kilometer markers are set up along the river and counting starts at the Black Sea. Although Bulgaria is south of Romania, crossing the Danube Bridge 2 from Vidin towards Calafat is made from northwest to southeast. This is because here the Danube has a very large mirrored S-shape, spanning across approximately , starting at Novo Selo and ending in Lom. The bridge is located near the middle of this reversed S. At most part of the Danube river, the Bulgarian bank lies slightly higher above water than the Romanian river bank. However, the city of Vidin is lying lower and is protected by dikes, while the bank on the Calafat side is high above Danube river. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New Europe Bridge」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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