The construction of the bridge was publicly proposed in 1997 by Ivan Šprlje, the Prefect of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) initially rejected the idea, but in 1998 it gained support of their MP Luka Bebić. In 2000, the bridge was added to the spatial plan of the county and the first construction plans were drawn up.[1]