The court will begin to address the criminal liability for the collapse of the Troja footbridge

Prague – The District Court for Prague 7 will begin to determine today whether anyone bears criminal responsibility for the collapse of the Troja footbridge. The author of the construction, Jiří Stráský, and the former head of the bridge department of the Technical Road Administration, Antonín Semecký, are facing charges of negligent endangerment. Both deny the accusations. The footbridge, which connected Troja with Císařský Island, collapsed in December 2017. Four people were injured, two of them seriously.

The prosecution claims that the design and construction of the footbridge were accompanied by errors that led to the corrosion of the steel cables. According to the prosecutor, the collapse was contributed to by a poor assessment of the condition of the footbridge and improperly conducted repairs.

Among other things, the prosecution alleges that the designer failed to account for the effects of wind and temperature in his calculations and did not properly perform author supervision, which allegedly led to substandard workmanship.

The second defendant, according to the prosecution, was aware of the poor to critical condition of the footbridge, as he had access to dozens of records and assessments that highlighted the problem. He also did not ensure that de-icing salt was not used during the maintenance of the footbridge, despite it being prohibited by the construction documentation.

A new footbridge is already in place and is expected to be accessible by the end of this October. It will cost 128 million crowns, and the company SMP CZ has been building it for the city since last November. Transportation in the area is currently being replaced by a ferry.