Kolín will commission a survey of the Masaryk Bridge, determining the scope of future repairs

photo: Roman Šulc

Kolín - Kolín wants to conduct a diagnostic survey of the Masaryk Bridge this year, which will serve as a basis for its overall reconstruction. The city council approved the announcement of a public contract for the survey worth 7.4 million crowns excluding VAT on Monday. The survey will determine the extent of future repairs and their financial requirements, said Kolín Mayor Michael Kašpar (Change for Kolín) today to ČTK.

"The bridge hasn't been repaired for several decades, and we can already see from the outside that it deserves some repairs, so we need a diagnosis that will determine whether they will be just cosmetic repairs, or also repairs to the structures, which would be more complicated," said Kašpar.

According to the final report, which is part of the tender documentation and proposes the extent of the survey and other works, the repair of individual parts of the bridge will be a large project that may temporarily significantly affect traffic services in the city center.

"Given the complexity, scale, and the number of involved interests (engineering networks, the interests of owners and operators of technical facilities under the bridge, etc.), it will certainly be exceptional on a regional scale. Moreover, coordination with the National Heritage Institute can be expected, even though the bridge is not currently listed as a cultural monument," the report warns. Due to the extent of the areas and the number of related works, high costs and complexity of project preparation and construction work can be expected, according to the report.

The reinforced concrete bridge over the Elbe, built between 1925 and 1927, is an important transport link between the city center and the suburbs of Zálabí. It is also connected to a weir and a hydroelectric power plant, with part of it crossing a railway line. In 2011, the city took ownership of the bridge from the region. A major repair was also carried out on the nearby New Bridge between 2021 and 2022, which is owned by the region and over which freight traffic also passes.