The new footbridge in Prague's Radotín should be completed in November 2022

Prague - The new footbridge over the Berounka River in the Radotín district of Prague will be designed and constructed by the firm Raeder & Falge. They won the tender with a bid of approximately 47 million crowns. Construction work is expected to start in January 2022, with completion scheduled for November of the same year. This was reported by the deputy mayor of Prague 16, Miroslav Knotek (ODS). The new footbridge will replace the existing one for pedestrians and cyclists, which is in a state of emergency. The Prague City Hall originally planned to build a footbridge over the Berounka in Radotín at a different location. It was to be completed no later than 2020, but the planned timeline was delayed due to a complaint to the antitrust office.

The design of the footbridge was proposed by architect Josef Pleskot. The structure of the planned footbridge will resemble the existing one, with modifications retaining some of its elements such as a pylon similar to a ship's mast. Based on Pleskot's design, the district called a tender for a construction company and concurrently for the project's designer in June, using the Design & Build method. According to the district, two companies participated in the competition. The contract was awarded to Raeder & Falge with a lower bid of 38,875 million crowns excluding VAT. The estimated value of the contract was about 39.97 million crowns excluding VAT.

The current footbridge from 1994 is in poor condition due to floods in 2002 and 2013. In 2014, it was temporarily supported with steel braces, and further reinforcement was carried out in April 2018. Subsequently, that year, the city hall announced a tender for a new footbridge, which was expected to cost 61.9 million crowns at that time. The planned new footbridge was to follow a different route than the existing one - on the right bank, it was designed to connect to K Radotínu street, and on the left to Nad Berounkou street. According to earlier information, it was to be built no later than last year, but the process was delayed for more than two years due to a complaint from one of the competition participants to the antitrust office. Due to the delays, the administration of the sixteenth district, which now manages the current footbridge, called a tender for a new footbridge itself.

The Prague 16 municipality has also completed the construction of the Koruna Center at Osvoboditelů Square. As one of the largest investments, the district paid approximately 120 million crowns. The multifunctional building, designed by the Grido studio, was constructed by ALBET construction company since January 2020. Since autumn, there has been a community center, a police station, and classrooms for the Klement Slavický School of Art. In the coming months, according to the municipality, the House Halfway project should start operating, which is a social service and emergency housing for young people aged 18 to 26 who have left foster care. The district is also preparing the Radotín Center project, which is expected to create 211 apartments, shops, and new public spaces around Osvoboditelů Square, along with a new town hall building and a parking garage.

Prague 16, with a population of around 8,520 residents, is located in the southwest of the capital. The district encompasses the entire cadastral area of Radotín. ODS governs Prague 16. It occupies 12 seats in the fifteen-member council. The opposition includes representatives from the Pirates and a coalition of KDU-ČSL, Greens, and TOP 09. Karel Hanzlík from ODS has been the mayor of Radotín since 2006.