Repair work has begun on the „Estakada“ bridge - one of the busiest points on Skopje's entry and exit routes, crossed daily by thousands of vehicles. For residents of Gazi Baba and everyone who comes in from that side each morning, this is news with two faces: a better bridge at the end, and several months of frustration until then.

The scope of works, according to the City of Skopje: reconstruction of the access ramps over an area of 10,000 square metres, milling of the existing asphalt and laying two new asphalt layers, plus new asphalt on the bridge itself. Kerbs and manhole covers will be replaced, new asphalt pavements built, and the protective pedestrian railing cleaned, repaired and repainted. The total length of carriageway being reconstructed is around 1.5 kilometres.

„By delivering this project we are investing in safety, better connectivity and a higher quality of daily life for thousands of our fellow citizens. Skopje deserves modern, safe and functional infrastructure. That is why we will continue repairing and reconstructing every bridge in the city where it is needed“, said mayor Orce Gjorgjievski.

That is a sentence hard to argue with. Which is exactly why it is worth measuring against what the statement does not contain.

The project description has everything - square metres, asphalt layers, kerbs, railing. It lacks the two things every driver looks for first: how long it will take and how traffic will run while it does. A bridge used daily by workers, schoolchildren, families, companies and freight transport does not get closed, narrowed or rerouted without people knowing from when to when.

That is not a minor detail for a follow-up announcement. It is the main piece of information for anyone setting off to work tomorrow. When it's missing, a gap opens up - and a gap in traffic gets filled with congestion.

Renovating a bridge that entire municipalities depend on is good news and worth doing thoroughly rather than in a rush. What is still missing is simpler than the whole construction project: a completion date and a traffic regime, published clearly and in advance. Only then does „a better daily life for thousands of fellow citizens“ become something those citizens can actually plan around, rather than just wait for.