The construction of the bridge over the Elbe in H. Králové will increase to 175 million CZK

Hradec Králové – The footbridge and cycle path across the Elbe in Hradec Králové will increase by nearly six million crowns to a total of 175 million crowns including VAT. The construction of the 103-meter-long bridge began in September 2021, and it will be opened to the public on March 2. This was stated today by the Deputy Mayor for Investments, Lukáš Řádek.

The reason for the second price increase of the bridge, according to him, is additional work that could not be predicted. The increase is triggered by the installation of a mesh with denser grids in the railing filling, a different foundation of the construction due to shallower electric cables, and a change in the foundation of the adjoining cycle path. Last year’s first increase of 7.5 million crowns was also caused by unpredictable adjustments during the construction.

The construction of the bridge, built by the company SMP CZ, has been in preparation by the city since 2003. The bridge will connect the city center with the Aldis area. Hradec is hoping for greater revitalization of Aldis and Smetanovo embankment. The city received a European grant of 102.7 million crowns for the construction.

Compared to other footbridges, the Hradec construction is significantly more expensive. For example, Pardubice opened a footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists across the Elbe at the end of 2020 for 40.8 million crowns. According to the Hradec city hall, the high price is due to the unusual design and technology. The bridge consists of supporting cables, a steel ribbed construction, and 39 slender segments of the deck, which are made of special concrete.

Originally, the Hradec city hall estimated the price of the bridge to be under 40 million crowns before the architectural competition in 2014. However, when the city hall announced a competition for a construction company in 2019, no one applied. The city hall canceled two more tenders when the only interested party offered prices significantly over 100 million crowns. At that time, the city hall considered abandoning the project and searching for a cheaper bridge option. In the end, they announced a fourth tender and selected the company SMP CZ from the French group Vinci from three applicants.