The footbridge from Prague's Holešovice to Karlín will be completed later, in December

Prague – The footbridge from Holešovice in Prague across Štvanice to Karlín will be completed this December, the original deadline anticipated it would be ready in September. The reasons for the delay include, among other things, more complex geological conditions in the river than were expected. However, the footbridge from Karlín to Štvanice should be completed in September. This was stated today by architect Petr Tej. The bridge will facilitate the journey for pedestrians and cyclists to Štvanice Island and will be another connection between the city districts, which has been provided by the HolKa ferry in the summer since 2015.

"The delay is about three months. These are standard issues. When manufacturing and constructing something of this scale, such things happen. For example, there were problems with drilling the pillars in the navigation channel, where huge stones appeared that were in the embankment, and drilling took about three weeks longer. These complications were not known at the time of project preparation,” Tej said.

In September, according to the architect, the planned first section of the footbridge from Karlín to Štvanice, including the ramp that people will use to descend to the island, will be completed. Although the footbridge will be finished, it will not be open to the public at that time; that will happen only after it is completed up to Holešovice.

The footbridge consists of 57 so-called concrete segments, which are parts that workers will assemble together. Of these, 13 have been made, and more are in preparation. Each segment is five meters long and wide and weighs 50 tons.

On the Holešovice bank of the Vltava River, the entrance to the footbridge will be on Bubenské nábřeží before the gate to the Prague Market. In Karlín, it will lead to a bike path along the flood barrier. The footbridge will span 38 meters between Karlín and Štvanice and 149 meters between Štvanice and Holešovice.

Currently, people can only reach Holešovice from Karlín via the busy Hlávkův Bridge or by a detour through Rohanský Island and Libeňský Bridge. They can also use the ferry. To access Štvanice, they can only go from Hlávkův Bridge or by ferry. The footbridge will also serve as a connection for cyclists, linking the main bike paths along the Vltava on both banks.

In 2020, Prague opened a new footbridge from Císařský Island to Troja. The original bridge collapsed at the end of 2017. However, Prague has long-term issues with bridges. The Libeňský and Hlávkův bridges are in poor condition, and the Palackého Bridge also requires repairs. The Technical Administration of Roads is currently repairing the busy Barrandov Bridge.