In Brno, a survey of the viaduct has begun, which is set to be transformed into a promenade

Brno - A survey of the historical railway viaduct started today in Brno, which is set to be transformed into approximately a 600-meter-long promenade for pedestrians and cyclists. The 19th-century viaduct has been buried under rubble beneath the railway embankment for over 100 years. Depth measurements will determine the condition of the structure and whether it can be saved, said Jana Běhalová, spokesperson for the Office of the Architect of the City of Brno (KAM), which is organizing the measurements.

The city leadership is counting on revealing the viaduct in connection with the construction of a new southern district, Trnitá, and the relocation of the existing main train station. Today, a test measurement of the first section took place. "It includes the first five arches, approximately 50 meters from the Malá Amerika building heading south. We will have the results of the first measurement available at the beginning of next year. If the measurement method proves successful, we plan to measure the entire route of the viaduct up to the bridge over the Svratka," Běhalová stated.

No one has known the condition of the original viaduct beneath the railway embankment for decades. "Therefore, we have been looking for ways to measure the structure below the existing track. If the viaduct can be saved, it will be a significant structure, which will be one of the landmarks of the new southern district Trnitá. It will serve as an urban promenade from the city center to the Svratka River, similar to the famous New York High Line," said Michal Sedláček, director of KAM.

The Vienna viaduct was commissioned in 1838 by the Northern Railway of Emperor Ferdinand as part of the line between Brno and Vienna. "The masonry viaduct itself had 72 arches, was single-track, and had a total length of 637 meters. It was connected to a five-arch bridge over the Svratka, which is still preserved today. Only a few small sections of the original viaduct have survived, as it was mostly buried during the expansion of the track in the 1890s and is hidden in a massive embankment," Běhalová described.

Fifteen brick arches are preserved under the tracks and accessible from the warehouse building Malá Amerika, while others are visible in Nové Sady street.