Most na Výtoni is set to undergo repairs, the authors of the proposal for its replacement are disappointed

Prague - The railway bridge at Prague's Výtoň will not be removed by the Railway Administration (SŽ), but will be repaired. An international competition will be announced for the reconstruction, the completion of another bridge with a third track, and a stop on the Výtoň side of the river. This was announced today by Minister of Transport Martin Kupka (ODS) and SŽ Director Jiří Svoboda, according to whom the lifespan of the repaired bridge is expected to be another 100 years. Civic groups welcomed the decision on the reconstruction; according to the shadow transport minister for ANO, Martin Kolovratník, Kupka should have decided on the repair back in 2023. Conversely, the authors of the proposal to replace the bridge with a new one were disappointed by Kupka.

Local governments, associations, heritage organizations, and the UNESCO committee had previously opposed the plan for a new bridge. According to Kupka, the repair was also recommended by a cultural heritage impact assessment (HIA) study that his ministry had received in recent days. Work on the repair could start at the end of 2029 and last for three years. According to the head of SŽ, the builders will reconstruct the bridge on the bank where it will be brought down, and during the repair, there will be a temporary single-track structure on the pillars instead.

SŽ plans to announce an architectural competition at the end of next year and have the results by the end of 2027. According to the ministry's forecast, builders should replace the current bridge reconstruction with a provisional one at the turn of 2027 and 2028. After the removal of the structure, Svoboda stated that they would also verify any necessary repairs to the bridge's pillars.

The repair of the bridge at Výtoň has technical and economic risks, said Jiří Kolísko, director of the Klokner Institute at ČVUT. At this moment, he noted, it is unclear which parts of the structure can be reused and which will need to be replaced. Therefore, the reconstruction costs are not clear, Kolísko told ČTK.

According to representatives of 2T engineering, which succeeded in a previous SŽ competition with a proposal to replace the bridge, and the team of companies SUDOP Praha and TOP CON SERVIS, which prepared the project documentation, the state prioritized the aspects of heritage protection and conservation over all others in its decision on the bridge repair.

"Prague is unique and valuable thanks to the layers of its architecture. Each historical period adds another layer. However, the current approach to heritage protection does not give the present a chance to showcase its artistry and leave something behind. Our generation does not have the right to create a modern layer in Prague,” the designers stated in a joint statement. They also expressed regret over the efforts expended on the earlier competition, the results of which will ultimately end up in a drawer due to politics.

On the other hand, Kolovratník agrees with the current solution, but he believes it came too late, and Kupka should not have allowed the Railway Administration to spend money on a competition for a new bridge. "It will be interesting if we find out that some 'experts' were wrong and the bridge is irreparable,” he noted. However, he considers time and transport capacity to be a priority.

Founder of the initiative Nebourat.cz, Pavel Štorch, also agrees with the reconstruction of the bridge; however, he does not consider its solution to be economical compared to the proposal of a study commissioned by the Foundation for the Rescue of the Vyšehrad Bridge, founded by entrepreneurs Tomáš Bistřický, Martin Vohánek, and Jan Barta. This proposed to repair only one of the three sections of the structure at a time, which would always be replaced by a temporary one. This way, only one section would need to be produced, while according to the current SŽ plan, all three will be necessary. "This smells of great inefficiency,” Štorch told ČTK.

During the preparation of the assignment, the exact location of the new building with the third track or the stop on the Výtoň side, which could be moved from Výtoň towards the former Vyšehrad train station, will also be addressed. According to SŽ, there are also plans to raise the bridge at Výtoň, as the low position of the bridge deck causes problems in tram operations.

The railway bridge at Výtoň was opened on August 15, 1872, initially as a single-track bridge. It was replaced by a double-track bridge at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. With its historic riveted structure, it represents a significant technical cultural monument in Prague's heritage reserve, according to experts. Due to its poor condition, train traffic on the bridge has been significantly restricted for several years; SŽ deemed it necessary to replace it because of severe corrosion.

The bridge, or rather the group of railway bridges, connects the Prague districts of Vyšehrad and Smíchov as well as Smíchov and the main train station by rail. It is intended for railway transport and also serves pedestrians via footbridges. The bridge also includes a stone viaduct on the Vyšehrad side with arches and direct bridging. In December 2004, the bridge was declared a national cultural monument.