Groundbreaking ceremony for Prut River ‘Flower Bridge’, with Romanian and Moldovan authorities attending

Romanian and Moldovan officials are to attend on Saturday the groundbreaking ceremony for the first motorway road bridge across the Prut River in the last 60 years – the Ungheni Bridge, an event symbolically called the Flower Bridge Festival.

The new bridge will connect the commune of Zagarancea in the Republic of Moldova’s Ungheni District with the Golaesti commune – Iasi County, Romania, and is part of the Union Motorway (A8), a major interconnection of the two national road networks – the Targu Mures – Iasi – Ungheni Motorway and the future Ungheni – Chisinau Motorway, both with an estimated completion date in 2030.

The Flower Bridge is the first of the four new bridges across the Prut set for construction and for which the design and execution contract was signed last fall.

Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bolea and Secretary of State with Romania’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Irinel Ionel Scriosteanu will attend the groundbreaking ceremony, as well as presidential candidate of the Romania Forward Electoral Alliance Crin Antonescu, other officials from Chisinau, Bucharest, Brussels, local authorities and citizens from both banks of the Prut.

Starting at 15:30 p.m., drilling work will begin on both banks of the Prut River, amid a demonstration with the participation of citizens, officials and the press, in Zagarancea, on the bridge construction site.

Well-loved artists from both countries will perform throughout the day in a spectacular musical program in Independence Square in Ungheni.

A documentary exhibition ‘Bridges of Memory’ will bring to the fore essential moments from the recent history of the two countries.

The acrobatic group of the Romanian Airclub ‘The Hawks of Romania’ will delight the public with a breathtaking flight and parachuting show.

Participants are also expected in the gastronomic area, with traditional dishes and a fair of local producers.

A design competition for visual artists from Romania and the Republic of Moldova will be launched on the occasion of the festival, and the winning work will be printed on the sound-absorbing panels of the future road bridge. AGERPRES (RO – writing by: Daniela Malache; EN – writing by: Simona Klodnischi)