Tok ordered extraordinary inspections of bridges, the Doubský bridge will be demolished

The condition of bridges has returned to the center of attention after the collapse of a motorway bridge in Genoa, Italy, in mid-August this year. It fell during peak traffic, resulting in the deaths of 43 people. The public began to take an interest in bridge structures last December after a footbridge collapsed in Prague's Troja. Four people were injured in that accident, two of them seriously.

According to Ťok, the condition of bridges from the 1960s to 1980s was difficult to assess, which was evident in the case of the Doubský Bridge, where damage was found during reconstruction that had not been detected during previous inspections. "We want to ensure that there is no hidden defect in these bridges that cannot be normally detected," the minister said.

About 400 railway bridges and another 600 on motorways and roads will be inspected. The inspections will focus primarily on the channels where the supporting cables are led.

The ministry has urged regions, which are responsible for second and third-class roads, to conduct similar inspections. According to Ťok, they should particularly focus on bridges over motorways or railways.

Regions will undertake extraordinary inspections of bridges constructed in the 1960s to 1980s, stated Jana Mračková Vildumetzová, chairwoman of the Association of Regions of the Czech Republic, in response. According to her, regions should receive more funds for the repair of roads and bridges than they currently do, as they own 72 percent of the total 17,485 road bridges and nearly a quarter of them are in poor to critical condition. The State Fund for Transport Infrastructure (SFDI) could announce a separate grant program for bridge repairs, she noted. "I see the ideal solution as if the financial resources went directly to the regions' budgets with precise allocation, specifying how much money would go for repairs of regional roads and how much specifically for bridge repairs," she added.

The Doubský Bridge, which is the main connection over the Ohře River between the D6 motorway and the road to Plzeň, has been closed since April this year due to reconstruction. The closure, which has caused significant traffic complications, was supposed to end in November.

Karlovy Vary Mayor Petr Kulhánek (KOA) criticized the ministry's decision. "To prepare a reconstruction of a crucial transportation link in the 21st century in such a way that after four months of closure, I find out that the bridge needs to be demolished and rebuilt is, from my perspective, absolutely inexcusable and someone has fundamentally erred in the whole process. The result will be a more complicated traffic situation in this part of the city lasting another year, along with the associated damage to roads and the environment on long detour routes," he stated.

According to Kulhánek, an even more serious problem is the impossibility of reconstructing the Dvorský Bridge, which is scheduled for 2019. The Dvorský Bridge currently serves as an alternative to the Doubský Bridge, yet its structural condition urgently needs repair. This was supposed to start after the completion of the Doubský Bridge.

Kulhánek wants to know who is responsible for the oversight. He is also demanding assurance of pedestrian access over the Doubský Bridge until it is demolished, and subsequently building a footbridge for people to cross during the reconstruction.

In the Czech Republic, there are nearly 18,000 road bridges and more than 6,750 railway bridges. The ŘSD is responsible for approximately 5,000 bridges, of which six on first-class roads are in critical condition. According to road engineers, these bridges are closed and will be repaired or replaced with new constructions. According to railway engineers, there are no bridges in critical condition, and currently, 361 bridges are being repaired. This year, the state will allocate up to 1.5 billion crowns for bridge modernization.