Djurdjevica Tara Bridge Gets Asphalt, Reopens October 26
Bemax crews have started the final work on the bridge deck. Eight days remain until traffic returns, and until then drivers take the detour.
Travelers heading from Serbia to Zabljak and Durmitor National Park still have to plan for a detour for eight more days. On October 18, asphalting began on the Djurdjevica Tara bridge on the M-6 highway between Pljevlja and Zabljak, the step that completes the reconstruction of the bridge deck. Machines from the company Bemax are working on the bridge, and Montenegro’s Traffic Administration says traffic stays fully suspended until October 26, 2026, at 12 noon.
How long is the bridge closed?
Montenegro’s Traffic Administration closed the bridge to all traffic on August 10 at 6 a.m. From then until the planned reopening, a little more than eleven weeks will have passed, and eight days remain from today. It is one of the best-known bridges in Montenegro, on the road that leads to Zabljak and Durmitor.
The reconstruction did not start in August. Work had been under way for several months before the full closure, and traffic ran under a modified regime in that period. In other words, the bridge stayed in use until August 10 while the work that allowed it was carried out.
Why couldn’t the work be done with traffic running?
According to the Traffic Administration’s statement, the next phase of the reconstruction covers work on the bridge deck, and that cannot be done while traffic is moving. A full closure was chosen instead of continuing under the modified regime. Asphalting is the final part of that work, and it is what began today.
The bridge is an important link between Pljevlja and Zabljak, so finishing the work will make daily travel easier for residents of the area and for everyone who uses this stretch of road.
Where do drivers go while the bridge is closed?
While the suspension lasts, road users take the alternative route Vrulja-Mijakovici. That road was built by the same company that is now asphalting the bridge, Bemax.
Drivers are advised to set aside more time than usual and to check road conditions before setting out. The advice applies to anyone planning to pass through this part of Montenegro in the days before the bridge reopens.
What comes next?
The deadline given by the Traffic Administration is October 26, 2026, at noon. If the plan holds, traffic on the Pljevlja-Zabljak road will cross the bridge again at that point, and the Vrulja-Mijakovici detour will stop being the only route. In its statement on the closure, the Administration said it also expects this phase of the bridge work to be finished on that day.
