The Asparuhov most () or Asparuhov Bridge is a bridge in

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

on the Black Sea coast of

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. It connects the Asparuhovo district to the rest of the city over the canals between the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

and

Lake Varna Lake Varna (, ) is the largest by volume and deepest liman or lake along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, divided from the sea by a 2 km-wide strip of sand and having an area of 19 km2, maximal depth 19 m, and a volume of 166 million m3. ...

. The bridge is 2.05 km in length and 50 m in height, weighing 3,200

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

s. It has 38 pairs of supports, each one capable of carrying 2,400 tons. The bridge experiences significant

traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

, with 10,000 vehicles crossing it every day. The bridge's construction began in 1973 when the need for a larger canal to link Lake Varna and the sea became necessary. The initial launch date was set for 30 September 1976, but construction was ahead of schedule and finished on 8 September, when the bridge was opened in a ceremony by

Todor Zhivkov Todor Hristov Zhivkov ( ; 7 September 1911 – 5 August 1998) was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian communist statesman who served as the ''de facto'' leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) from 1954 until 1989 as General Secretary of the Cen ...

. Meanwhile, the new canal that the bridge crosses began operation on 1 September, with the first ship going through on 4 September of the same year. After 20 years of neglect, reconstruction work began in 1996 with a planned completion in October 1998, but the installation was not reopened until 17 September 1999, long overdue from the initial plans of a 16-month reconstruction. Today, the Asparuhov Most is not only an important transport installation, but also a place where

extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk of injury or death. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extre ...

fans meet, as the bridge is a favourable location for

bungee jumping Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...

. The bridge is also unfortunately a

suicide bridge A suicide bridge is a bridge used frequently by people to end their lives, most typically by jumping off and into the water or ground below. A fall from the height of a tall bridge into water may be fatal, although some people have survived jumps ...

, with many deaths occurring over the past decades. In September 2015, the municipality of Varna announced plans to fully renovate the bridge and add

cycle track A cycle track or cycleway (''British'') or bikeway (''mainly North American''), sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath, is a separate route for cycles and not motor vehicles. In some cases cycle tracks are also used by other users such ...

References

* Varna.info.bg.
Asparuhov most
'.
Panorama photo of Asparuhov most bridge at night
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Varna, Bulgaria Bridges in Bulgaria Cantilever bridges Bridges completed in 1976 1976 establishments in Bulgaria Transport in Varna, Bulgaria