Hradec Králové has canceled the second tender for the construction of a footbridge over the Elbe

Hradec Králové – The representatives of Hradec Králové have also canceled the second competition for the company to construct the footbridge over the Elbe near the Aldis congress center. Only one applicant registered for it. No one registered for the first tender. The city will start preparing to announce the third competition. The project for the construction of the footbridge, estimated at 46 million crowns without VAT, has been in preparation since 2003.

For the second tender, the city hall relaxed the competition conditions and hoped that more companies would apply. This did not happen. The footbridge is designed with a reinforced concrete deck slab with a pair of steel tension cables and steel ribs. It is not a common construction, as high-strength concrete of the UHPC category (Ultra-High Performance Concrete) must be used, which only a limited number of manufacturers can produce in the Czech Republic. "There are currently only four footbridges in the Czech Republic using this type of concrete," said Jiří Bláha (ODS), deputy mayor for investments, earlier.

The city also received an objection regarding the tender documentation for the second competition, which was announced in early May. The complainant argued that the qualification conditions should not include a requirement that the contractor be able to work with UHPC technology. The city rejected the objection. Bláha admitted that for the third competition, the city could discuss with the designer whether the requirement for UHPC is necessary.

Most of the construction costs should be covered by a European grant from the ITI program. Due to the grant, the footbridge should be completed by the end of 2023. The city also committed to the construction of the footbridge in a contract with Československá obchodní banka, which began building a regional headquarters for a thousand employees in the Aldis area last year.

The footbridge will be for pedestrians and cyclists and will connect Šimkovy sady and the vicinity of the Aldis congress center with Karl IV. Avenue in the city center. The city hall already built a pedestrian boulevard in the Aldis area in 2003 for 23 million crowns, to which the footbridge was to connect.

In the past, nature conservationists had reservations about the footbridge project. The original project involved the felling of an oak tree on the riverbank, which conservationists successfully protested against. Delays and disputes also accompanied the architectural competition. Ornithologists raised objections to the design of the footbridge, as the proposed structure could interfere with the flight paths of birds, particularly swans. The project was modified due to comments from ecologists.