Belgrade’s Inner Main Semi-ring to be controlled by up-to-date traffic control systems – preparations for introduction of intelligent transfer systems in progress

Construction of Inner Main Semi-ring (IMS), 17 km long, which will be connecting New Belgrade and the the Pančevo bridge, has entered the first phase and the works on the pillar of the new bridge across Ada Ciganlija, the most important and the most expensive facility of IMS, are currently underway. Future junction, of which completion can be expected in 2020, will be equipped with intelligent transfer system (ITS) for traffic control, while technical preparations for its introduction are carried out by the Belgrade Faculty of Transportation in association with Hidroprojekt.

ITS operates in real time and it integrates various functions, such as – traffic requests control, regulation of vehicles’ access to certain parts of the network, light signals control, etc. IT also includes strategies for quick reactions and organization of traffic in case of incidents, as well as advanced information systems for users.

Branko Stanić, a professor at the Faculty of Transportation, pointed out in the interview for eKapija that it was necessary for the IMS Control project to be elaborated simultaneously with the development of the junction in order for the technical conditions to be created for later implementation of the system.

- According to the plan, IMS should be equipped with light signals, traffic signs, sensors and detectors. Drivers will be receiving certain technical information in various ways. Part of these information will be sent through the system of vertical signalization, that is, billboards. Drivers will be receiving some of the information via GPS device in the car. All traffic participants will be warned about weather, road conditions, traffic jams, and they will also be directed to alternative elements of the road network – Sanić explains.

According to his words, Belgrade’s traffic control system is not of the latest generation. There is, currently, one command center in 27. marta Street, and the traffic management is based on monitoring of junctions by means of TV cameras. Parts of the traffic network are connected into the system, but there is certain number of them that are not integrated, so that it is not possible to control the entire traffic system in the capital city from the command center.

- That center will, most probably, control IMS. But, since this junction is going to include two very important and big facilities – the bridge across Ada Ciganlija and so-called the Senjak Tunnel – the controlling will be pretty complicated, so that our task will be to select the best software and equipment. The idea is that the project for the IMS equipping enables control of the entire traffic management system.

According to the words of our collocutor, IMS is the only junction in Belgrade that has gone through all phases of planning, and it has general project, preliminary project and main project that have been verified several times.

IMS’ route

IMS goes from junction T6 in New Belgrade to the Pančevo bridge, and the citizens of Rakovica and Čukarica will benefit the most because it will be easier for them to travel to New Belgrade, Zvezdara and Voždovac since they will not have to drive through the center of the capital any more.

IMS’ route is parallel to the existing highway, it goes past the new settlements on Bežanijska Kosa until it reaches the leveled crossroads with Tošin Bunar Street, then it passes alongside blocks 37 and 38, 28 and 24 where it cuts Omladinskih Brigada Street and Španskih Boraca Street and, going in parallel with the railway tracks, it reaches current trade center where it turns towards Shipyard.

The IMS project moved the long-planned bridge across Ada Ciganlija to the very tip of the lake. The IMS’ route further leads alongside the hippodrome until it reaches Topčider where it goes through the hill beneath Dedinje, so-called the Senjak Tunnel. The other side of the tunnel is in Ljutice Bogdana Street, near the stadium of FC Partizan. There is a leveled cloverleaf interchange on Autokomanda. IMS then goes through the valley of the Mokri Lug brook towards Šumice where, while crossing the highway, it cuts Ustanička Street and enters a tunnel once again. IMS is again on the surface near the crossroads with Gospodara Vučića Street and that is where its route goes across the South Boulevard.

IMS then goes through Grčića Milenka Street and, once again, enters the tunnel beneath Vojislava Ilića Street and Kralja Aleksandra Boulevard. The route then goes towards the crossroads with Baje Sekulića Street and, passing by the New Cemetery, it reaches the zone of the Theological School (Bogoslovija), crosses Ruzveltova Street and enters the Pančevo bridge. Total length of IMS is 17 km with 3 km of tunnels and about 5.5 km of facilities.

Bridge across Ada Ciganlija

The bridge across Ada Ciganlija, the most expensive facility on future IMS, will be built by Austrian-Slovenian consortium “Porr Technobau und Umwelt SCT d.d. und DSD Bruckenbau”, and the value of works is 118,652,230 EUR. The contract also includes some unanticipated and subsequent works whose value equals 5% of total price. The development will be financed mainly from the loan approved by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to the City of Belgrade, while the construction of access junctions will be financed by the Directorate for Building Land and Development of Belgrade.

Construction of the bridge should be completed in 44 months from the moment the contract is signed, that is, prior to the end of year 2011. The preliminary solution was elaborated by Maribor-based company “Ponting” in association with DDC Ljubljana and CPV Novi Sad.

The bridge will be 929 meters long, with the pillar 200 meters high, and it will have six lanes, two pedestrian tracks and double railway tracks for light metro.

According to the words of professor Stanić, the bridge is the most expensive and the biggest facility of the future IMS, and it is followed by the Senjak Tunnel. Our collocutor points out that there are alternatives to that tunnel, such as the Rakovica road.

- Construction of IMS in New Belgrade is not going to be very demanding. The problems will occur once it crosses the river, that is, when it reaches Ada Ciganlija and Hippodrome, because the junction will be situated in a corrosive space – Stanić explains.

The smallest profile of IMS will consist of two plus two lanes and it will be similar to the main city artery - Kneza Miloša Street, but it will be wider in New Belgrade.

If IMS existed today, the picture would be as follows: the number of vehicles on the Gazela bridge at the peak time would be reduced by 27%, the number of vehicles on the Branko’s bridge would be cut by 24%, while the number of vehicles in Vojvode Mišića Boulevard near Trade Fair would drop by 42%. The average speed would be increased from current 19 to 26 km/hour.