Most between Prague 4 and Prague 5 is set to begin construction next year

Prague – The Dvorecký Bridge connecting Prague 4 and Prague 5 is expected to start construction in the middle of next year. The Prague City Hall plans to apply for a building permit within two months. In response to a query from ČTK, Prague spokesman Vít Hofman stated today. According to him, the city expects to complete the bridge at the turn of 2024 and 2025. The bridge for trams, pedestrians, and cyclists is designed to improve traffic connectivity between the Zlíchov and Podolí banks of the Vltava River.

"We plan to start construction of the Dvorecký Bridge in the middle of next year, but it will depend on the speed of the building permit process, which we hope to initiate within two months," the spokesman said. The bridge's design was developed by the company Tubes and Atelier6, costing 132.7 million crowns.

Hofman added that the city has tasked the companies with expanding the project to include a triangular space between the bus stop Lihovar and Strakonická, which was not addressed by the original documentation. "The City Hall has expanded the architects' assignment to prepare a solution for this adjacent area so that in the future, after the completion of the Dvorecký Bridge and the adjustment of its surroundings, there will not be an existing unrefurbished area," the spokesman stated.

In addition, the project for the water sports base, which is at the site of the new bridge's outfall in Podolí, is also being expanded. It will be demolished, and the designers have been tasked with proposing its replacement. "The specific costs for the implementation of these additional adjustments have not yet been quantified, but we will be in the range of a few percentage points of the total project cost," Hofman added.

According to previous estimates, the construction of the bridge is expected to cost around one billion crowns. The city chose the authors of the proposal in an architectural competition that attracted 45 submissions. The winning design refers to cubism. The eastern outlet of the structure will be near the Žluté lázně, north of Jeremenková street, while the western outlet will be near the Lihovar tram stop. The project includes the design of a new tram stop named Dvorecký Bridge.

The most recent Prague bridge over the Vltava, the Troja Bridge, was opened in October 2014. It replaced the Troja Tram Bridge from 1981, nicknamed "rámusák," whose operation was terminated on October 7, 2013. Last year, the city opened a new footbridge over the Vltava in Troja, replacing one that collapsed in 2017. The City Hall has also recently announced a tender for the construction of another footbridge connecting Prague's Holešovice and Karlín. In the long term, there are plans for the construction of the Rohanský Bridge connecting Karlín and Holešovice. The city is also gradually repairing existing bridges over the Vltava, many of which are in poor condition.