The decision on the railway bridge under Vyšehrad will be made before the elections, said Kupka

Prague - Transport Minister Martin Kupka (ODS) intends to announce a decision regarding the fate of the railway bridge under Vyšehrad before the end of the current term. The minister is expected to reveal whether the project to replace the heritage-protected riveted structure with a new one on the original pillars will proceed, or if the bridge will be repaired. Kupka told ČTK today that he is still waiting for an impact analysis on cultural heritage, known as HIA (Heritage Impact Assessment).

It is expected that the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will confirm the conclusions of the December UNESCO mission in Prague during its 47th meeting on Wednesday in Paris. The committee is set to vote on a clear resolution according to the Czech National Committee (ČNK) ICOMOS, the advisory body for UNESCO. According to its text, it will request the Czech Republic to preserve and restore the Vyšehrad railway bridge at its current location.

Kupka has two proposals at his disposal. The project of the new bridge from the Czech company 2T engineering emerged from a competitive dialogue held by the Railway Administration. The project of restoration from British and Swiss bridge experts was provided to the minister by the Vyšehrad Foundation.

The minister is to decide between them. "This will happen by the end of the electoral term. I conditioned further steps precisely on UNESCO's opinion and also on the HIA study, including consultations with the Ministry of Culture. We should have the results of the HIA study, meaning the results of the assessment of the significance of heritage care in the case of this bridge in the coming months," Kupka responded to ČTK’s inquiry.

President Petr Pavel announced the parliamentary elections for October 3 and 4. "I firmly hope that based on all the input information it will be possible to present a solution for Prague that is also considerate of the historical monument," the minister added.

The creation of the HIA, the first such assessment in the Czech Republic, was agreed upon two years ago between the Railway Administration and UNESCO. Furthermore, its Paris headquarters sent a mission to Prague on December 11 and 12 last year to form its opinion. If the UNESCO World Heritage Committee officially approves the conclusions of the Prague mission on Wednesday, a clear procedure should follow, according to the president of the ČNK ICOMOS, Martin Horáček.

"There really is no other option but to repair the Vyšehrad bridge at its existing location. This excludes the options of building a new bridge or relocating the current one to another place, if the Czech Republic does not wish to risk problems with Prague's registration with UNESCO," Horáček stated in a press release.

The current railway bridge at Výtoň dates back to 1901. According to experts, it is a significant technical cultural monument within the Prague heritage reserve, and its riveted structure is under heritage protection. Critics from the initiative "Do not demolish the bridge" argue that it suffers from a lack of maintenance. Due to its poor condition, train operations on the bridge have been significantly limited for several years, and according to previous statements from the Railway Administration, it needs to be replaced due to severe corrosion. According to the Vyšehradský bridge foundation, the corroded elements can be replaced while preserving the riveting technology, making it a faster and cheaper solution.