Nymburk has obtained a building permit for the construction of a footbridge over the Elbe

Nymburk - Nymburk today received a building permit for the construction of a footbridge over the Elbe. The city still needs to select a contractor through a competition, and construction could start as early as the beginning of summer, spokesperson for the city hall Petr Černohous informed CTK today in a press release. The original project estimated costs around 40 million crowns, but Nymburk mayor Tomáš Mach (Nymburk with ease) told CTK this week that he fears the winning bid may exceed 100 million crowns.

"I am very glad that Nymburk has obtained a valid building permit for the new footbridge. If everything goes well, we want to start construction as early as this summer. The first visitors should be able to walk from the center to Zálabí by 2021," said Deputy Mayor Bořek Černý (Change for Nymburk).

The new footbridge will be at least four meters wide and designed so that both pedestrians and cyclists can use it together. In urgent cases, vehicles from the integrated rescue system will also be able to cross it.

Compared to the original design, the new footbridge will be structured in a way that will make it easier to monitor its condition and will also focus on minimizing potential corrosion. "The new footbridge should have a lifespan of 100 years, and compared to the original, we will be able to effectively monitor its condition," Černý said.

The winner of the new footbridge competition could be known in the spring. According to the mayor, the new footbridge will cost at least 78 million crowns, but it is realistic that the price will exceed 100 million crowns. According to Mach, the city has received a promised grant from the State Transport Infrastructure Fund (SFDI), which has allocated 99 million crowns for Nymburk. If the winning bid exceeds this amount, the city will need to seek additional funds.

Nymburk closed the original footbridge to pedestrians in December 2017, and boats were prohibited from passing under the bridge since last June. At the same time, the city closed the area on both banks beneath the bridge. River traffic was restored after two months on August 8, following the demolition of the bridge. The bridge had the same design and was by the same designer as the bridge in Prague-Troja, which collapsed into the Vltava River two years ago.

The project documentation was created by the company Stráský, Hustý and partners. The managing director of the company and the author of the design is designer Jiří Stráský, who also designed the bridge in Prague-Troja and the previous one in Nymburk.