Skip to main content

Upgrade set to start of Budapest’s Széchenyi Chain Bridge

Budapest’s iconic Széchenyi Chain Bridge that was opened in 1849 is set for a €73 million upgrade starting this summer, according to Hungarian media. Work will include revamping of a nearby tunnel in the Hungarian capital with completion set for the end of 2019. The suspension Chain Bridge spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest and was designed by English engineer William Tierney Clark following an initiative by the Count István Széchenyi. It is a larger scale version of Clark's earlier Marlow B
April 4, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
RSSBudapest’s iconic Széchenyi Chain Bridge that was opened in 1849 is set for a €73 million upgrade starting this summer, according to Hungarian media.

Work will include revamping of a nearby tunnel in the Hungarian capital with completion set for the end of 2019.

The suspension Chain Bridge spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest and was designed by English engineer William Tierney Clark following an initiative by the Count István Széchenyi. It is a larger scale version of Clark's earlier Marlow Bridge, across the River Thames in Marlow, near London. Its 202m centre span was one of the longest in the world when bridge was opened.

It was designed in sections and shipped from the United Kingdom for assemble in Budapest. The two-lane deck is nearly 15m wide and the iron chains on which the road-deck hangs are supported by two 48m river piers in classicist style. The bridge was rebuilt in the late 1940s after being blown up by the retreating German army in early 1945.

Related Content

  • Landmark bridge for Italy?
    August 9, 2023
    The news that the Italian Government is once again considering building a bridge spanning the Messina Strait is of major significance for the construction sector, as well as for the country.
  • New German highway bridge for Cologne
    January 26, 2021
    A new highway bridge is planned for Cologne in Germany.
  • Doka delivers cantilevering for super-slim piers at Lahntal Bridge
    October 21, 2016
    Doka’s formwork expertise is currently in demand during the construction of one of the busiest motorway viaducts in Germany. The 400m six-lane Lahntal Bridge in Limburg dates from the early 1960s. Every day about 100,000 vehicles cross the bridge that spans the valley of the River Lahn. But traffic loads have increased sharply, so a new bridge is being built sited just a few metres west of the old viaduct. The new Lahntal viaduct will measure a massive 43.5m in width, enabling eight lanes plus hard shoul
  • Formwork solutions for bridge maintenance and repair
    January 6, 2015
    An array of innovative formwork solutions have helped in the repair and construction of key bridge links - Mike Woof writes Formwork producers are continually developing novel solutions for bridge maintenance and construction applications. Several key structures have benefited from the novel use of formwork systems, with suppliers such as Doka, PERI, Pilosio and RMD all working on important structures in recent times. In Estonia, construction work is underway on the bypass around Tartu, the country’s