The bridge was designed by a group of engineers led by Milan Đurić, and built by the Mostogradnja company.

Đorđe Lazarević, who was president of the competition commission, said that "this bridge leaped over the Sava like a jumping gazelle", and the name stuck.

Citizens joked, saying that the truck drivers who tested the bridge should be equipped with the diving suits.

[2] The bridge was ceremonially opened by the President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito and mayor of Belgrade Branko Pešić on 4 December 1970.

On that same day, apart from the bridge, a highway through Belgrade, the Mostar Interchange and the Terazije Tunnel were all open.

To make matters worse, the bridge has been closed in its entirety for 7 days, causing unprecedented traffic chaos in Belgrade.

During the works, European Investment Bank withdrew the funds as they didn't approve how the problem of the informal settlement of the Cardboard city below the bridge was handled.

[8] As a result of the reconstruction, the traffic congestion was massive and regular, with jams stretching all the way to the Autokomanda and Dušanovac neighborhoods.

[8] Since its reconstruction, city officials stated the bridge would be able to handle 200,000 vehicles daily for the next 40 years.

As such, it is extremely overloaded and a cause of frequent congestion, as it leans on the main Belgrade's Mostar interchange.