It was opened 43 years ago and since then the life and tourist offer of the island of Krk has grown considerably. Even today, the bridge with its two long concrete arches is a real construction achievement. In the high season, up to 35,000 vehicles pass the bridge.
Plans for the construction of the bridge existed before the First World War, but at that time the funds for this ambitious construction were lacking. The plans were revived after the Second World War and the bridge was finally opened on 19 July 1980. When it opened, 25,000 people walked across it.
As the construction work on the bridge to Krk took place under the patronage of the then President of the SFR Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, the bridge was originally called Tito Bridge.
When it opened, it was the largest concrete arch bridge in the world. The longer of the two arches has a span of 390 metres (the shorter 244 metres), and the entire bridge crosses the island of Sv. Marko is 1,309 metres long. The arch has an even larger span, as part of it is hidden below sea level.
In terms of the span of the concrete arch, the bridge on Krk surpassed the Chinese Wangxian Yangtze Bridge, which was not built using the classical methods as the one on Krk (they first built the structure and then filled it with concrete). and so the Croatian structure remains a special construction achievement.
It is not allowed to walk across the bridge, but it is possible to walk through its interior. Oil pipeline pipes, water pipes with drinking water and industrial facilities were built into its construction.
Since the bridge was built, the population of Krk has grown by about 10 per cent every year. In 1971, 13,000 people lived on the island; at the time of the 2011 census, it was already more than 19,000. About 120,000 tourists spend their holidays on the island every year.
The island's tourist competitiveness and especially the ease of life on the island of Krk became somewhat easier after 2020, when after forty years it was finally no longer necessary to pay the bridge toll.
The bridge on Krk, the very heart of the island of Krk, has two weak points, both of which are "forces of nature": Storms and salt. In case of extremely strong storms, the bridge has to be temporarily closed. In the first 40 years of operation of the Krk Bridge, it was closed due to storms up to 1,320 times. As an interesting fact, we add that on 17 January 1987, at 19:25, an extreme wind gust was registered on Krško Most: "crazy, incredible" 220 km/h.
If you want to see the bridge up close, Voz Bay is probably the best choice. From the island's main road, you need to turn towards Rijeka Airport, but before that, keep left at the small roundabout and turn towards Voz Bay.
The nearest place to the bridge to Krk is Omišalj (about 5 km), the tourist town of Njivice is 10 km away and a little less than 20 km from the town of Šilo, the main centre of the island, the town of From Krk it is more than 25 kilometres of motorway, to the famous beach in Baška a good 45 km.
We emphasise once again that the bridge to Krk has completely changed life on the island of Krk for both locals and tourists, of course for the better.
