The bridge over the Vardar River near Bashino Selo has been completely rehabilitated and is now fully operational. This was confirmed on-site by the Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads, Koce Trajanovski, together with the President of the Government, Hristijan Mickoski, the Minister of Transport, Aleksandar Nikoloski, the Mayor of Veles, Marko Kolev, as well as regional MPs and professors from the Faculty of Civil Engineering.
This bridge is of vital importance as it connects several populated areas—Veles, Chashka, Izvor, and Bogomila—and sees heavy daily traffic, including light freight vehicles, vans, cars, but also semi-trailer trucks. The bridge, built back in 1971, showed visible signs of damage for a long period of time. Due to its deteriorating condition, the Public Enterprise for State Roads requested an expert opinion from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, which earlier this year recommended the bridge be closed and urgently rehabilitated.

At the beginning of the year, the bridge was closed to all traffic and later placed under temporary traffic regime while simultaneously the rehabilitation works were performed.
“After identifying the unfavorable condition, which initially led to the temporary closure of the bridge to all traffic, we rolled up our sleeves and began activities for its rehabilitation, as well as for monitoring the bridge’s condition, as we could not afford to keep it closed for long due to its strategic importance. We are grateful to the professors from the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Skopje who helped install state-of-the-art monitoring equipment under the bridge, which tracks movement 24/7. Thanks also to the contractor, ‘Syntek Engineering’ DOOEL Skopje, who began the works on March 21, worked intensively, and met our expectations. Today, we have a rehabilitated and safe bridge,” said Koce Trajanovski, Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads.

Traffic on the bridge now flows in both directions, but caution is still advised for heavy freight vehicles, which use the bridge on a daily basis and are the main contributors to its wear and tear.
During the construction works, the underside of the bridge was treated, new materials were applied to the beams for their reinforcement, and the interior of the bridge structure was rehabilitated using modern solutions. Protective measures were implemented, damaged bridge girders were structurally reinforced and re-concreted, and extra support was added underneath. Steel elements were added to reinforce the beams, and steel connections were installed. The reconstruction was fully financed by the Public Enterprise for State Roads, with the total project value amounting to 29,045,170.18 MKD, i.e. approximately 472,000 EUR including VAT.
This completed rehabilitation of the bridge near Bashino Selo is expected to extend its lifespan by 5 to 10 years.