Hradec Králové will save the remains of the iron bridge from 1907, it will not go to scrap

Hradec Králové – The representatives of Hradec Králové today decided to salvage the three-year-old dilapidated remains of the historic iron bridge, which stood over the Orlice River in the Svinary district. They approved an expenditure of 2.1 million crowns for the relocation of the bridge's remains to the city airport and for its maintenance. In the future, it could be transformed into a footbridge to cross the Piletický stream behind the Kaufland shopping center.

The riveted iron bridge of Colonel Šrámek stood over the Orlice from 1907 until 2018, when the Hradec Králové Region had it demolished due to its dilapidation. A new modern bridge was opened at the site of the iron bridge in May 2019. The region donated half of the bridge to the city. The city requested it to preserve it for future generations as a showcase of the skills of the builders of that time. Since 2018, the remains have been lying on the left bank of the river, surrounded by a fence.

The city began to address the remains of the bridge after receiving a call from the region to take some action regarding the bridge. "At the end of June, I urged the city leadership to take care of the remains of the old Svinary bridge urgently and inform me of their intentions regarding the donated property as soon as possible," said regional councilor Václav Řehoř (ODS) to ČTK. If the fragment of the bridge continued to deteriorate in its location, the region was ready to terminate the donation agreement and have the remains of the bridge disposed of.

The preservation and further use of the remains was primarily driven by the city councilor Adam Záruba (Change for Hradec). "The bridge is unique; its demolition would be irreversible," he said. Some representatives from ANO raised concerns that saving the bridge and its installation for tens of millions of crowns does not make economic sense. "The city needs money for more important things, such as repairing the underpass on Karl IV street." said councilor Jiří Langer (for ANO).

The city estimates that the bridge could be stored at the airport for possibly up to ten years. The actual repair and overhaul of the bridge fragments could, based on current prices, amount to around 12 million crowns. The bridge was not a cultural monument but was considered to have historical value according to conservationists.

Záruba was able to push through the approval of the resolution for the recovery of the remains only on the second attempt after so-called negotiation proceedings of the representative clubs. In the first vote, the council rejected the proposal; in the second, the narrow majority of 19 representatives voted in favor.

The new Svinary bridge, which is important for traffic in the eastern part of the city, cost the Hradec Králové Region 80 million crowns. It has a span of 75 meters and features two traffic lanes and a sidewalk, while the original riveted bridge had one traffic lane and an adjacent footpath. The new bridge has only one span. The original bridge was composed of two spans, supported in the middle by a stone pillar.