It was named after the northern city of Pančevo (in Vojvodina) which is connected to Belgrade by the road continuing from the bridge.

The bridge approaches begin well back from the bridge itself in the neighborhoods of Bogoslovija (roundabout at Mije Kovačevića Street) and Ada Huja (Višnjička Street), while the direct approach begins from the Boulevard of Despot Stefan.

[3][4] The bridge spans the industrial zone along the Danube's right bank in the neighborhood of Viline Vode, the Danube (at approximately river's 1,166 kilometres (725 mi)), and reaches the Banat side in the neighborhood of Krnjača, between the sub-neighborhoods of Blok Braća Marić, on the right, and Blok Branko Momirov, on the left.

There is a large access interchange on this side, too, with the carriageways forking in two, marking the borders of the sub-neighborhood Blok Grga Andrijanović.

[8] After the German attack on Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941 in the course of the World War II, the Yugoslav army command decided to blow up all three existing bridges in Belgrade (two over the Sava and one over the Danube) in a vain attempt to slow down the German Army advancement.

[9] As one of the "first infrastructural casualties" of the war,[8] the Bridge of King Petar II was destroyed in the night between 10 and 11 April 1941.

The German occupational forces first placed a pontoon bridge over the Danube, named after general von Weichs.

[6] Right after the liberation, the new authorities wanted to repair it as fast as possible, but the reconstruction was constantly delayed due to the scope of the project.

Plans were drawn up by the 50 Soviet engineers headed by Vladimir Golovko [ru], lieutenant general of the Red Army's technical troops.

By the time "Leningrad" reached several hundred meters away from the bridge, three tankers completely sank while two were cut in half by the explosions and protruded from the water.

When the new construction was placed around it, the old one was removed and the new structure was pushed into the projected axis by the powerful hydraulic presses.

One bridge is supposed to be built downstream, to connect the Belgrade suburb of Vinča to Omoljica in the Pančevo municipality.

The main steel grid-like construction beneath the carriageways was repaired, while some parts were replaced or strengthened.

[19] Since then, commuters (drivers, cyclists, pedestrians) posted numerous photos of neglect and abundant damages of the bridge.

In 2014, the cyclists hanged a large placard, pointing to the bad shape of the paths and guard rails, general neglect of the bridge and abundant weeds growing on it.

[20] In December 2017, Minister for transportation Zorana Mihajlović announced the complete reconstruction of the bridge, without giving the starting date but setting the deadline for the finished works at the end of 2018.

[20] Confronted later with her claims, minister Mihajlović denied ever saying that, even though she was filmed, saying that she was talking only about the bicycle paths, which didn't happen either.

Vesić stated that the construction of this bridge should start in 2020,[22] which was later moved to 2021, meaning it can't be finished before 2024.

Still, the authorities refuse to place even the proper fences, waiting for the full reconstruction and claiming that the current maintenance works are adequate.

[23] In January 2021, the city administration announced a study to show if it is feasible to expand the bridge with an additional lane, to carry the first tram line across the Danube.

[24] In August 2021, Zoran Drobnjak, head of the national road construction company Putevi Srbije, said that the bridge is too old and that the existing structure should be completely demolished.

If needed, there are techniques for steel construction enhancement and the strengthening of the pillars, while the new piles can be placed, according to Kostić; this would allow for the expansion of the bridge with additional lanes.

[25] Drobnjak continued to push the demolition, claiming the bridge was damaged to its foundations, but the engineers, including the CIP institute, rejected it.

State road inspector ordered for the pathways to be repaired "without any delay", but "Putevi Srbije" refused to do so, claiming that it would cause traffic jams and anger of the commuters.

The work of these companies was part of the reparations Germany had to pay to Serbia for the damage inflicted during World War I.