The Čiovo Bridge is complete! According to Apple...
If you’re an Apple iPhone user like me, then you probably use the built-in iOS ’Maps’ application often. Though many iPhone users are partial to what I am told are ‘better applications for user experience”, for me, I just need something that’s going to tell me how to get somewhere and how long it will take. While I have downloaded other navigation applications such as Google Maps, Apple’s app seems to do just fine.
To be honest, I haven’t used my ‘Maps’ application in a while - meaning I’ve either mastered the hidden alleyways of Split, or I haven’t needed to leave the house much since the new year…I’m thinking it’s the latter. I did, however, open my ‘Maps’ application after a funny read on Dalmacija Danas on January 15, 2018.
The headline read: “Surprise on Mobile Map that Drivers Use: Čiovo Bridge is Already Done!”
This immediately prompted me to open my recently updated (iOS 11.2.2) Apple ‘Map’ application to see what was going on.
Interestingly, Apple has displayed an image of the Čiovo Bridge on the app in all possible views, including a satellite image. This, of course, must be confusing to many users as the bridge doesn’t actually exist yet. And for the tourists who haven't been following Croatia's bridge saga, that must create another world of commotion. Apple may have caught on to the promises of Croatia’s politicians and construction companies about the completion of the bridge, but most likely didn’t calculate the frequent delays when meeting supposed deadlines for constructing infrastructure in Croatia. Oops.
You can see for yourself below.
Meanwhile, the bridge from the mainland of Čiovo, which the inhabitants of Trogir and Čiovo have been expecting for three years, still hasn’t seen the light of day. Per usual in Croatia, the construction has been delayed, there has been a lack of workers, and a change of contractors - leaving the inhabitants of Čiovo and Trogir to wait, day in and out, for a bridge that is meant to be just over a half a kilometer long.
Public Company ‘Croatian Roads’ are convinced that everything will go to their dynamic plan this year.
"Construction is taking place on access roads while the second part of the work related to the steel bridge construction is in operation. Preparatory work is needed at the site itself,” said Croatian Roads in a recent statement. The latest deadline for the bridge is June 15, 2018.
Fortunately, you can always find comfort in knowing the bridge exists in Apple’s eyes.
You can read more about Croatian bridges here.
