The region has started repairing the Stádlecký Bridge, the work will last for two months

Stádlec - The South Bohemia Region has begun to repair the listed Stádlec Bridge in the Táborsko region. The work is expected to last two months, with costs amounting to 10.1 million crowns. During the reconstruction, vehicles will not be able to cross the bridge, and pedestrians will also be prohibited from passing. The bridge is in a state of emergency due to damage from wood-eating fungus affecting the wooden parts. The region will use oak wood imported from Croatia for the repairs. David Hocke from the governor's office department informed CTK today.

The original schedule for the repairs had to be postponed by about six months because the region could not source the necessary quantity of oak wood in the Czech Republic. The bark beetle calamity forced foresters to prioritize the harvesting of affected wood, and most companies delayed or stopped other logging. The oak wood imported from Croatia also had to dry to meet the moisture requirements of the project documentation, said regional councilor Antonín Krák (CSSD). The oak should last for several more decades on the bridge.

The Stádlec Bridge is 157 meters long and six meters wide. Approximately 700 mature oak trees were needed for the repairs. The wooden parts of the bridge were attacked by wood-eating fungi from the family Trametes. The structure is damaged across its entire width.

"We have no choice but to carry out the work under complete closure between the municipalities of Stádlec and Dobřejice, excluding all traffic including pedestrians. No other option is possible. I believe that during the reconstruction, which will last about two months, the residents of neighboring municipalities will endure using detour routes," said the councilor.

First, the workers will remove the metal connections, then the wooden beams that vehicles drive over. The fruiting bodies of the wood-eating fungi will be physically removed from them, and the original beams will also be chemically treated to prevent the spread of spores to the surrounding area. In the next phase, the company will install new beams on the bridge.

"Interestingly, the connecting materials that will be used on the bridge will be coated with Teflon. This is because oak resins are aggressive, and if we used regular materials, they would corrode much faster," said Krák.

The suspended Stádlec Bridge was built in the mid-19th century by industrialist Vojtěch Lanna. The bridge originally stood elsewhere. From 1848 until 1960, it connected the banks of the Vltava River near the village of Podolsko on the trade route from Bavaria to Galicia. However, it was endangered by the construction of the Orlík Dam, requiring this last Empire-style bridge in Central Europe to be dismantled and relocated to its current position near Stádlec on the Lužnice River. It resumed service on May 25, 1975.

Along with the Charles Bridge in Prague and the Stone Bridge in Písek, it is one of the national cultural monuments. It has been protected as a monument since 1989. One of the last repairs of the Stádlec Bridge was in 2006 when the region replaced spruce deckings with oak ones.