Prague will announce a tender for the construction of a footbridge from Holešovice to Karlín

Prague - The Prague magistrate will issue a tender to search for a company that will build a footbridge connecting Karlín and Holešovice. The estimated maximum cost of the construction, which will be five meters wide and 285 meters long, is 197 million crowns. This follows from a document approved by Prague councilors today. When exactly the construction will start is still not clear. The project for the city was done by the company AI Prague. The tender announcement must still be discussed by Prague representatives. The city is also developing a study for the transformation of Štvanice Island.

"The construction of this footbridge will complete the currently missing pedestrian and cycling connections between the banks of the Vltava River and Štvanice Island. Štvanice Island is currently accessible only at its western tip via Hlávkův Bridge," the document states.

The footbridge is designed as a reinforced concrete structure made of prefabricated parts. On the Holešovice bank of the Vltava, access to the footbridge will be on Bubenské embankment in front of the gate to the Prague Market. On the Karlín bank, it will connect to the local bike path. "We have supported the project from the beginning. The footbridge will connect to our heavily used bike path A2, where we are currently preparing a surface change from gravel to asphalt. This will significantly expand the possible routes for recreational and transport use for both pedestrians and cyclists," said Prague 8 councilor Tomáš Slabihoudek (TOP 09).

"By the end of the year, we should submit an application for a building permit. In parallel, we will announce a tender for the contractor, start construction next year, and the project should be completed the following year," said Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr (Praha Sobě).

The long-planned transformations of Štvanice Island are also expected in the coming years. The city announced an architectural competition for the design of the modifications, in which the architectural studio RKAW succeeded in 2013. Subsequently, the project was halted for several years until the beginning of this year when the city commissioned architects to develop the original design into a more detailed conceptual study.

The competition for the footbridge connecting Karlín and Holešovice was first announced by Prague 7 in 1999. The winning design became unfeasible due to changes in flood protection measures after 2002. Currently, a ferry connects Karlín and Holešovice, which is expected to stop operating after the footbridge is completed.