Praha still does not have a building permit for the repair of the Libeň Bridge

Prague - Prague and its company Technická správa komunikací (TSK) do not yet have a building permit for the reconstruction of the Libeň Bridge, and are currently addressing adjustments to the plan based on the requests of the owners of nearby properties. Only after the permit is issued will it be possible to determine whether the project complies with the original tender for reconstruction, as requested by the opposition ANO. This was stated today by Deputy Mayor for Transport Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) during the city council meeting. Workers have already demolished part of the bridge structure, and TSK announced on Wednesday that trams will stop operating on the bridge on Monday and will be replaced by buses.

The opposition has long criticized that, although the original tender including both project preparation and construction anticipated the reconstruction of the bridge according to the developed study, only a minimum will remain of the original structure in the end. "From a sensitive reconstruction, it will become a demolition and the construction of a new bridge," said Radmila Kleslová (ANO) today. She added that logically, it is appropriate to ask whether the new form of the project will meet the conditions set by the public procurement law.

At the beginning of the year, councilors empowered Hřib to provide them with information on this, but the resolution lacked a deadline. Today, representatives of ANO criticized the deputy for providing the information too late and only after a reminder from the control committee. "I mind that the time when there is no traffic on the bridge is being prolonged," said Jan Čižinský from the opposition Prague Sobě.

Hřib stated that the demolition of the so-called flood bridge that has already taken place definitely corresponds to the original assignment of the competition. According to him, how much of the original bridge structure will remain will only be clear after the project is completed and the building permit is obtained. "There are requests from the owners of adjacent properties that we must respect if we want to do it at all," said the deputy.

According to the informational press release for councilors, it is already clear that the final form of the project will differ from the original study on which the city based its decision on the reconstruction. At the initiative of one of the participants in the original tender, the matter is also being addressed by the antimonopoly office (ÚOHS), which has so far ruled in favor of the capital city, and is now re-evaluating the issue after an appeal was submitted.

TSK announced on Wednesday that starting Monday, trams will stop operating on the bridge over the river and will be replaced by buses. The reason given by the company is the long-term poor condition of the bridge and the fact that with the current cooling, there is a risk that the bridge might be suddenly closed to trams due to the weather. This is criticized by Prague Sobě, which governs Prague 7. "The justification of low temperatures is misleading and serves only as a cover for a long-term effort to prolong and increase the cost of the bridge reconstruction. It has no basis in any expert assessment; on the contrary, it is contrary to what experts from the Klokner Institute found," stated the party leader Adam Scheinherr.

The Libeň Bridge is a structure made up of six bridges, built according to the design of architect Pavel Janák in 1928 and has never been repaired. The leadership of Prague under Mayor Adriana Krnáčová (ANO) considered demolishing the bridge and replacing it with a new structure from 2014 to 2018, but her successors decided to repair it during the last electoral term. Ultimately, a replica of the main bridge will likely be created on the original pillars according to Janák's design.