Trams and pedestrians will return to the supported bridge at Vltavská

Prague - The underpass under the bridge at the Vltavská metro station will be opened for pedestrians and trams on Thursday morning. The bridge is temporarily supported, but cars are not allowed on it yet. This was announced today by Barbora Lišková, spokesperson for theTechnical Communications Administration (TSK). Tram lines number 1, 12, and 25 will return to their regular routes around the Holešovice Market. TSK closed the bridge at Vltavská last week based on information about its poor condition from the company Pontex, which was conducting diagnostics on the bridge.

"At this moment, we can say that the bridge is secured in case of an emergency. There are four massive supports under the bridge that would prevent its collapse should the prestressed concrete structure fail," said TSK CEO Petr Smolka.

Trams will not return to the Štvanice and Těšnov stops yet. They cannot turn from Vltavská onto Hlávkův Bridge because the supports are positioned directly in the track bed. Tram line number 34, which replaces line number 14 due to the closure in Lazarská, will continue to run from Masaryk Station through Florenc and Karlínské Náměstí to Palmovka and Vysočany. This evening, a test run of the tram will still take place in the direction of Strossmayer Square - Vltavská.

TSK has completed the first phase of supporting the bridge; further work will continue. "At this moment, the bridge is temporarily secured for emergencies; we are now beginning to prepare its additional provisional support, which will be constructed by a selected contractor during the winter. The current measures will protect the traffic under the bridge, but cars still cannot access the bridge. They will return only when we strengthen the bridge from below with strong steel beams," Lišková stated.

The ferry service between the market in Holešovice and Karlín will be terminated. It was supposed to end last week, but its operation was extended due to the emergency. "Tomorrow, the replacement bus line number 296 will also stop operating," said Martin Šubrt, deputy director of ROPID.

Last week, Pontex warned about the deteriorating condition of the bridge, which it has been monitoring. TSK subsequently closed a section of Bubenská Street leading to the main road towards Výstaviště, which runs over the bridge. Traffic is also closed beneath the structure, so trams are not running on Vltavská.

TSK is now examining, for example, Hlávkův Bridge and the Legií Bridge, which are also in poor condition. Diagnostics of the Cable Bridge on the South Connection between Zahradní Město and Strašnice is also being prepared. The Libeňský Bridge is also in poor condition and had to be temporarily closed to cars and trams earlier this year. The city has yet to decide whether to repair the structure or build a new one. The Palackého Bridge from Palackého Náměstí to Smíchov and several other bridge structures also need reconstruction.