Further work on the support of the bridge at Vltavská will begin on February 4

Prague - Further work on the support of the bridge at Vltavská will begin on Monday, February 4th. Once completed, full traffic will be able to return to the bridge and under it. The Technical Road Administration (TSK) informed of this in a press release today. The work will be carried out by the company Hochtief, with costs amounting to 15.9 million crowns, and is not expected to last longer than a month. Due to its emergency condition, the bridge was closed last October and was partially reopened after emergency supports were installed at the end of last year. Its further fate has not yet been decided.

Currently, traffic on the bridge towards Holešovice is restricted to one lane; after the reinforcement, traffic for vehicles up to 3.5 tons is expected to return to pre-closure conditions. Likewise, trams are expected to fully return under the bridge, which currently operate in one direction only because the temporary supports are located on part of the track. "Thanks to the bridge reinforcement, tram service will also return to the track from Vltavská towards Hlávkův bridge," said Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr (Praha Sobě).

The duration of the construction will be affected by the weather, but it should not exceed one month. "We will do everything we can to finish earlier," said TSK General Director Petr Smolka. The temporary supports currently support the bridge only in two places under the second and fourth spans; to make the bridge operational, the damaged segments need to be supported along the entire length.

As part of the repairs, several service interruptions are planned. From February 4th to 24th, trams on Hlávkův bridge will not run, affecting line number 14. On the weekends of February 9th to 10th and February 23rd to 24th, tram service will be completely interrupted along the route Strossmayerovo náměstí - Vltavská - Pražská tržnice - Dělnická, and from February 11th to 22nd, trams under the bridge will run only in the direction from Vltavská to Strossmayerovo náměstí. During the dates of February 9th to 10th and February 23rd to 24th, vehicles will not be able to access the repaired bridge.

The reinforcement is a temporary solution. What will happen to the bridge next has not yet been decided. The city will make a decision about its future.

The company Pontex, which monitored the structure, alerted to the deterioration of the bridge's condition in October. Subsequently, on the night of October 24th, TSK closed the bridge connecting to the main road in the direction from the city center. Traffic was halted for several weeks underneath the structure, and tram service from Vltavská to Hlávkův bridge was interrupted.