Skip to main content

Helsinki approves the Crown Bridges – Kruunusillat - project

Helsinki City Council has approved construction of the Crown Bridges – Kruunusillat – Project, that at 3km will be the longest bridge in Finland. The bridge will carry pedestrians, cyclists and trams between the city centre and the 143 hectare Kruunuvuorenranta development to the east which will have over 580,000m² of residential space and 6,000 housing units. The centrepiece of the €259 million scheme, as designed by WSP Finland and Knight Architects, will be the 1.2km span crossing of the main bay,
September 22, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Finland’s longest, the Kruunusillat bridge project
Helsinki City Council has approved construction of the Crown Bridges – Kruunusillat – Project, that at 3km will be the longest bridge in Finland.

The bridge will carry pedestrians, cyclists and trams between the city centre and the 143 hectare Kruunuvuorenranta development to the east which will have over 580,000m² of residential space and 6,000 housing units.

The centrepiece of the €259 million scheme, as designed by WSP Finland and Knight Architects, will be the 1.2km span crossing of the main bay, named the Kruunuvuorensilta. The central 135m pylon of the symmetrical cable-stayed design is a tall slender diamond, with multi-faceted surfaces designed to catch light and shadow both by day and night.

WSP has said that the “design is based on a 200-year lifetime” despite being located “in an aggressive marine environment”. The three-dimensional diamond shaped tower is highlighted with facade lighting that changes on festive days. Lights on tramways and bicycle and pedestrian lanes will create an iconic shape on the horizon.

The centre of the bridge consists of two 260m-long cable-stayed main spans supported by a single pylon. The approach spans is a continuous composite girder bridge.

“It will extend Helsinki’s excellent public-transport system, significantly reduce journey times, and create a critical link to new developments. This will be a high-quality, lasting piece of infrastructure, which will be instantly recognisable and synonymous with Helsinki,” said Tom Osborne, project architect.

The project will now enter the detailed design phase, with construction due to start on site in autumn 2018. The tramway is due to be opened to the public in 2025.

Related Content

  • Cable works starts on Gordie Howe Bridge
    February 10, 2023
    The tolled six-lane bridge over the Detroit River, between Windsor in Canada and Detroit in the US, is costing around US$4.2 billion with an opening date likely in 2025.
  • The Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway
    September 19, 2021
    The 8.5km CCLEx, as it is known, will include the longest and tallest bridge in the Philippines when the structure is finished next year
  • Forming iconic structures
    July 18, 2012
    Specially designed and constructed formwork is being used to create some iconic bridges worldwide The Golden Ears Bridge over the Fraser River will unite the municipalities of Richmond, New Westminister and Delta in the scenic British Columbia province of Canada. The bridge, part of a CAD$800 million (US$670 million) project, is an 'extra dosed' cable stayed bridge, which means the deck will be supported by both cables and the structure itself. This design reduces the overall height of the two towers as req
  • Korean bridge construction poses challenges
    April 5, 2012
    On South Korea's southern coast, an innovative highway sea crossing is providing many engineering challenges The new Busan-Geoje crosses from South Korea's second city to its biggest island and is slightly shorter than the 12km of the country's famous Incheon project. In addition the main cable stay bridge for the Busan-Geoje project has a 475m span rather than the 800m of the Incheon central span. However the 8.2km Busan-Geoje project faces perhaps greater technical challenges and also includes a second b