Czech bridge facing demolition over condition concerns

A bridge located in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, is facing calls for its demolition. Concern has been expressed over the condition of the Hlavka Bridge, which spans the Vltava River. The bridge carries heavy vehicle traffic as well as trams and is one of the city’s major transport arteries. It was built originally from 1909 to 1912, replacing an earlier wooden structure. It was then rebuilt so as to cope with vehicle traffic and at present carries up to 100,000 vehicles/day, making it one of the busiest traffic links in Prague.

Because of its importance to traffic flow in the city, temporary supports will be added. However investigations have shown that a concrete section added in the early 1980s is in a very poor conditions and cannot be repaired.

Other bridges in Prague are also in a poor condition, although no decisions have so far been made about their potential replacement. The Libeň Bridge was closed temporarily at the start of 2018 but now decisions have yet been made as to whether to demolish it or repair it.

Also in the Czech Republic, delays are afflicting work on a 13.6km stretch of the D1 highway connecting Humpolec with Vetrny Jenikov, with a bridge once again being at the centre of the hold-up. The work is being carried out by a consortium comprising local form Geosan Group, the Italian contractor 6423 Toto Costruzioni Generali and the Kazakhstan company SP Sine Midas Story. The contract was won with a tender of  €68 million and work commenced in March 2018. A new road bridge was to have been built between Stoky and Jenikov but this is now far behind schedule. The work is being overseen by the Czech state road and motorway management company RSD and it remains to be seen whether the consortium will be hit with penalties for late working.