Repair of the Barrandov Bridge will end on Sunday, followed by tests

Prague – The reconstruction of the Barrandov Bridge, which has been ongoing for more than two years, will end on Sunday. Completion of the work will be preceded by load tests during the weekend, during which trucks will test the quality of the work carried out on the section of the bridge repaired this year. The spokesperson for Prague's Technical Road Administration (TSK), Barbora Lišková, informed ČTK about this. The load test will mean a closure of the northern bridge, from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday nights from 20:00 to 04:35. The bridge will remain passable during the tests.

The Barrandov Bridge was built in 1983, it is crossed by over 140,000 cars daily, making it the busiest road in Prague. Its repair had several phases, starting in May 2022 and causing traffic complications, although according to TSK and Prague's management, thanks to communication campaigns and changes in driver behavior, these complications were not as severe as they could have been. Originally, the work was supposed to continue next year, but the city leadership merged the last phases and decided that the reconstruction would finish this year. The original deadline for the completion of the main work was at the end of the summer holidays, but due to the bridge's worse condition, road workers had to postpone the deadline.

The construction consists of two bridges. The southern bridge, used by cars traveling from Smíchov to Braník, is already repaired, as is the southern part of the northern bridge, which facilitates traffic in the opposite direction. Workers are currently finishing the work on the northern part of the northern bridge. The weekend load test will involve the entire northern bridge, which will be closed during the night closures, as well as the entry ramp from Modřanská and the exit ramps to K Barrandovu and Strakonická streets.

"The entry ramp from Strakonická to the Barrandov Bridge will also remain closed. Traffic on the bridge will be directed over the southern half of the bridge. Southbound from Smíchov to Brno will run in three temporary lanes and from the South Connection to Smíchov in one temporary lane," Lišková added. Detours will be established for the closed exits and entrances.

Once TSK completes this year's work, the bridge will undergo a final, fifth phase, during which workers will repair the surfaces, according to previous information. There will be no traffic restrictions on the bridge during this phase of work.

The reconstruction of the bridge will be nearly twice as expensive as originally anticipated. Instead of 594.5 million, it will cost approximately 1.14 billion crowns, said TSK's general director Filip Hájek in September this year. According to him, the reasons are the very poor condition of the original structure, inflation, and the use of more modern technologies. When considering the zero phase of repairs, during which the pillars were reconstructed among other things, the aforementioned fifth phase, and the payment for the construction manager, the costs will rise to nearly 1.31 billion crowns. City leadership and Deputy Mayor for Transport Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) are criticized for the price increase by the opposition ANO and SPD.