On June the 6th 2024, three years after the foundation stone was laid, the twentieth Duna bridge in Hungary was officially inaugurated. The bridge was designed by CÉH Zrt. and Pont-TERV Zrt., while the road designs were prepared by SPECIÁLTERV Kft. on behalf of UTIBER Kft., all commissioned by the main contractor, Duna Aszfalt Zrt.
The bridge was blessed on the day of the inauguration by Archbishop Balázs Bábel of Kalocsa-Kecskemét. He expressed that a long-held personal wish had been fulfilled by naming the bridge after his ecclesiastical predecessor from 500 years ago, Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa and a brave soldier.
The new infrastructure significantly reduces travel time between Kalocsa and Paks, separated by the Duna, and between Kalocsa and the M6 motorway. The travel time between Kalocsa and Paks has decreased from the previous 40-50 minutes to approximately 15 minutes, while the M6 motorway is now reachable from Kalocsa in about 40 minutes.
The Kalocsa-Paks Duna Bridge boasts impressive dimensions, spanning 946 meters across the Duna. The first major step after the foundation stone was laid in October 2021 occurred near the riverbank section on the Kalocsa side, where a nearly 180-ton steel stiffener element was lifted into the fifth pier of the river bridge. A remarkable feature of the bridge is the construction of two 2.25-meter-wide, two-way bicycle paths on both sides of the 2 x 3.50-meter roadway, accompanied by safety lanes and barriers. Additionally, reinforced concrete frame bridges were built before and after the new Duna bridge under the main road to ensure smooth traffic flow over the flood protection dikes.
