Hradec Králové has begun constructing a footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists across the Elbe near Aldis

Hradec Králové – The city of Hradec Králové today began the construction of a footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists across the Elbe. The bridge will connect the city center with the Aldis area. It will be built by the company SMP CZ for 161.8 million crowns. The city has obtained a European grant of 102.7 million for the construction. The city hall has been preparing the construction of the bridge in the area of the Aldis congress center since 2003. It will be one of the largest current investments in the city. The bridge is expected to be completed around the turn of 2022 and 2023. Hradec hopes that the bridge will enhance the revitalization of Aldis and Smetanovo nábřeží.

Construction work on the 103-meter long and 5.7-meter wide bridge will begin with the demolition of two terraces at Aldis, which will make way for the bridge. Lumberjacks will also cut down an aging oak tree on the left bank of the Elbe, which is in poor condition and could pose a threat to the surrounding area of the bridge in the future. The healthy tree would not impede the bridge construction.

"We expect to have the foundation completed by the end of November. Before Christmas, we could then assemble the first part of the steel structure and the supporting closed cables,” stated Jiří Keclík, the construction manager from SMP CZ.

A special feature of the proposed bridge is that it will be built using an unusual technology involving special high-strength concrete, allowing for the use of slender elements. The bridge will consist of a concrete deck that will be surrounded by suspended steel ribs on cables.

Compared to other bridge constructions in the region, the cost of the bridge at Aldis is significantly higher. Pardubice opened a footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists across the Elbe at the end of last year for 40.8 million crowns. The city of Náchod built a road bridge over the Metuje for 33 million crowns last year, and the Královéhradecký region opened a bridge over the Orlice in Hradec Králové-Svinare for 80 million in 2019.

According to the city hall, the high cost of the bridge is attributed to its unusual design and technology. "This is a self-anchored suspended structure, which is very unconventional. It consists of a support cable, a steel structure, and special concrete supports that are essentially a work of art. This construction is on the edge of engineering and is something that has not yet been built here. A bridge of this type does not exist in the Czech Republic,” said city hall spokesperson Kateřina Šmídová.

Originally, the Hradec city hall expected the bridge to cost up to 40 million crowns before the architectural competition in 2014. When the city hall announced a competition for a construction company in 2019, no one applied. The city hall canceled two more tenders when the only interested party offered prices significantly above 100 million crowns. At that time, the city hall considered abandoning the project and looking for a cheaper bridge option. In the end, they announced a fourth tender and selected the company SMP CZ from the French group Vinci from three applicants.

The construction has been delayed by various circumstances in the past. Environmentalists had reservations about the project. The original plan included the cutting down of an oak tree on the embankment, against which environmentalists successfully protested. Delays and disputes also plagued the architectural competition. Ornithologists raised objections to the design of the bridge, as the proposed bridge could interfere with the flight paths of birds, especially swans. The project was modified due to the comments from ecologists. The start of construction was then delayed until the Czechoslovak Commercial Bank completed its regional headquarters in the Aldis area.