[1] On the right bank, the bridge was starting at the Sava Port, in the neighborhood of Savamala, a transportation and commercial hub and one of the busiest parts of Belgrade in that period.

On the left bank, the bridge entered the still marshy and un-urbanized area where New Belgrade was built after 1948.

The bridge continued into the road which connected Belgrade to Zemun, its outer suburb at the time.

They were constructed solely for the purpose of conquering the city during the numerous battles and sieges of Belgrade in history, like in 1521, 1595, 1688 or 1717.

After Yugoslavia was formed, the government and the city began considering the construction of the road bridge.

As the eastern section of the bridge was planned to start in the Sava port area, in the municipality of Savamala, the propositions included the minimal height of 12 m (39 ft) and a single span across the river of at least 250 m (820 ft) so that it wouldn't present an obstacle for the ships passing to the port and turning around under the bridge.

There were major issues with the expropriation of the lots on the Belgrade side, where the access roads were to be built.

[1] A sandy beach with the cabins, kafanas and barracks, used as sheds by the fishermen, occupied the area where the access ramp was to be built on the left, Zemun's side.

It was one of the favorite vacation spots of Belgraders, occupying the left bank of the Sava, north of the future bridge, in the modern Ušće neighborhood.

The objects were demolished manually, including numerous kafanas: "Ostend", "Zdravlje", "Abadžija", "Jadran", "Krf", "Dubrovnik", "Adrija", etc.

were demolished, jointly by the municipalities of Zemun and Bežanija, which owned half of the land each, and the proprietors of the objects.

The unit was combined from the horsemen of the Royal Guards Artillery, Cavalry of the Junior Officers School and Zemun's Students Squad.

By the 1931 census Belgrade had a population of 266,849 while the west bank was not urbanized yet and still some 150,000 citizens crossed the bridge on the opening day.

Roš was convincing the people that it is "normal" for the bridge to swing 13 cm (5.1 in) and that it was perfectly safe.

[7] German invasion of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941 with the heavy aerial bombing, especially of Belgrade (Operation "Retribution").

It was blown up during the night and went out of service but apart from failing to stop the occupying army, the demolition directly caused a lethal accident.

[3] The construction of the bridge was patterned in the Serbo-Byzantine style, placed on two pylons made of reinforced concrete,[3] while it was held by the steel cables.

On the horizontal crossbars the king's last words (now generally considered as being false) should be written: "Guard Yugoslavia".

[1] Labeled as the "major building project during the Interbellum", it was praised for having both the important infrastructural and symbolic value as it was the first road bridge spawning the Sava, ending its purpose as the border river and marking the directions in which the city will develop.

[11] Belgrade and Zemun developed completely independently for centuries and for the most part during the history two towns belonged to two different states.

[12] After the bridge was completed and the permanent road link established, Zemun lost its separate town status to Belgrade in 1934.

[13] Also in 1934 city plans were expanded to include the creation of a new urban tissue which would connected Belgrade and Zemun.

Also, a group of Belarus emigrants built several small buildings, mostly rented by the carters who carried goods across the river.

[15] In 1937, for the purpose of hosting Belgrade Fair, a complex of buildings was erected next to the already existing community and just south of the Zemun's section of the bridge.

Designed by the architects Milivoje Tričković, Rajko Tatić and Đorđe Lukić, it was envisioned as the monumental modern complex, with the Central Tower as the domineering motif.

Germans used some 600 m (2,000 ft) of mobile bridge construction which they confiscated from Yugoslav army at Šabac.