In southern Croatia, across Mali Ston Bay, the 2,404 m Pelješac Bridge — 13 spans, including five main spans of 285 m — was assembled from 165 prefabricated steel box-girder segments to form an extradosed structure linking the mainland with the Pelješac Peninsula.

Behind its calm profile lies one of Europe's most complex erection operations — combining floating-crane lifting, balanced-cantilever assembly, and hydraulic skidding within the same project.

~2.4 km
Total length
165
Steel segments
~1,000 t
Floating crane capacity
≈20 mm
Fit-up gap achieved
Night
Final welds — thermal control
Method 1
Marine lifting
Segments up to 56 m long and approximately 780 t were placed by a floating crane of approximately 1,000 t capacity, with survey correction for tide, wind, and drift. Temporary brackets stabilised each segment. Fit-up gaps of approximately 20 mm were achieved in an open marine environment.
Method 2
Balanced-cantilever assembly
Main-span modules (approximately 12 m / 220 t) were lifted by deck-mounted cranes from the completed deck. After each lift, stay-cable forces were re-tensioned and deck camber checked to maintain geometry across the growing cantilever.
Method 3
Hydraulic skidding
At the land approaches, prefabricated units were advanced on skid tracks using hydraulic jacks with millimetric control of stroke and level prior to welding. The land approach and the marine main spans required fundamentally different erection logic — controlled by the same project.
Geometry control

Erection accuracy was verified at every stage, not only at closure. Final welds were performed at night at reference temperature, minimising thermal deformation. Overall deck alignment remained within a few centimetres — exceptional for a marine environment.

A rare case where three erection systems operated together under marine constraints — each governed by a different logic, each requiring a different temporary works regime, each within tolerance of the others.

The Pelješac Bridge is not primarily notable for its size. It is notable because the site demanded three distinct erection methodologies, executed within the same project sequence, with alignment maintained across all of them. That is a different order of commercial and technical complexity from a project where a single method governs from pier to pier.