In Ostrava-Svinov, the demolition of the reinforced concrete "platform" begins

Ostrava - Near the train station in Ostrava-Svinov, the demolition of the reinforced concrete structure nicknamed Svinov Platform has begun today, with at least a year's delay. Demolition using heavy machinery will start on Tuesday, said Jiří Navrátil, director of the Ostrava division of OHL ŽS, to ČTK. The platform, which previously housed a market, will completely disappear within eight weeks. This will free up space for the construction of a modern transport terminal and shopping gallery that will connect to the existing station.
    The company OHL ŽS first had to remove the steel structures; heavy machinery will only be deployed on the reinforced concrete itself. "We will use heavy tracked equipment with a height reach of 28 meters; the CAT 345 has giant shears and a hydraulic hammer," specified the director. The entire structure will be demolished including the foundations down to nearly two meters deep. The city of Ostrava will pay approximately 21 million crowns for its demolition.
    The construction site was taken over by the company at the beginning of August; however, the demolition itself had to be postponed due to the unexpected construction of a temporary water connection. The demolition of the platform, which marks the beginning of the transformation of the entire area in front of the station, was supposed to start last fall. The city first had to negotiate the exchange of necessary land with the family of hockey coach Alois Hadamczik. The year-long delay was mainly due to negotiations with another landowner in the area, Maxmilián Šimek.
    The city will invest nearly 620 million crowns in the transformation of the entire area and has received almost 570 million from the European Union for this purpose. The Moravian-Silesian Region will cover approximately 180 million crowns. The planned transport terminal will connect the existing Svinov Bridges with the train station, something that has not been achieved so far because the platform from the 1970s was never completed. The Svinov Bridges will be transformed into a modern transfer hub according to the design of Ostrava architect Václav Filandr, who is also behind the glass expansion of Svinov Station. This will, however, first be preceded by the activation of a passage under the bridges by extending Peterkova Street. Bílovec Street will undergo reconstruction, where two roundabouts will be created.
    In addition to transport constructions, a new multifunctional building will be erected between the Svinov Bridges and the station; the developer SVINOV CENTRUM will pay up to 1.2 billion crowns for it. Passengers will be able to travel from the station to the tram and bus stop "without getting their feet wet" through a three-story shopping gallery with restaurants and cafes. Approximately 250 parking spaces will be created on the roof of the shopping center and at street level. The developer also plans to build a twelve-story administrative building.