The construction of a temporary bridge on the Vistula in the center of Krakow may cost PLN 13 million. The crossing would connect Kazimierz with Dębniki during the renovation of the Grunwald Bridge for several months, which will be closed at that time. The renovation will cost 20 million. Next week, a decision is to be made whether the city is ready to spend so much.
The Grunwald bridge connects the southwest of Krakow from its center. Due to his deteriorating technical condition in the future, he will be demolished and replaced by a new construction, however To extend his expiry date, a general renovation is necessary. This is to start in May and take eight months, during which the crossing will be closed to cars. Public transport will not go a bit shorter, for six months.
Grunwald Bridge in KrakowShutterstock
Due to the paralysis of the city center with which the renovation will merge, the Krakow authorities came up with the idea of building a temporary crossing. President Aleksander Miszalski turned to the head of the Ministry of National Defense, Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz for help in this matter. In this way, soldiers of the engineering troops came to Krakow, who at the beginning of February conducted “field reconnaissance” on the Vistula.
Temporary bridge during the renovation of Grunwald? Doubts of the city
According to estimates, the cost of this solution would exceed half of the budget allocated to the renovation itself. The repair of the Grunwald Bridge is to cost just over PLN 20 million. Meanwhile, the construction of the temporary bridge, as the President Miszalski reported on Wednesday, would consume PLN 13 million.
The temporary bridge would be built during the renovation of the Grunwald Bridge in KrakowBogusław Świerzowski/Krakow.pl
For now, there has not been a decision yet whether the city will decide on such a solution – it will probably be made next week. Time is prominent, because before possible construction officials would have to prepare the entire undertaking at an express pace.
– You would have to build a foothold, in the bottom of the Vistula you would have to stick two rows of supports. First, however, we would have to obtain a water permit and of course prepare a project. It would all take a lot of time – explains Krzysztof Wojdowski from the City of Krakow Road Administration in an interview with tvn24.pl.
Not only materials and assembly would consist of the cost of the project, but also Construction of access roads, accommodation for soldiers and bringing this area after renovation to the previous state. – The question is whether it pays off. In 1998 there was an analogous situation. At that time, during the comprehensive renovation of the Dębnicki Bridge, a temporary bridge was erected on the Vistula, but it was then used for a year and a half, so for about three times longer – Wojdowski noted.
Renovation of the Grunwald bridge
The renovation of the Grunwald bridge will cover key elements of the structure, including: replacement of the road surface and tram track, which will improve the safety and comfort of using the bridge; repair of a reinforced concrete bridge plate, which is the basis of the entire structure; Reconstruction of the heat pipeline to modernize the technical infrastructure running through the bridge.
According to the Road Administration of the City of Krakow, the Grunwald Bridge, despite the planned renovation, is not a target construction. In the perspective of 2038, it is planned to demolish and build a new crossing, which will meet the requirements of the developing city. The new bridge is to be adapted to both the intensive public transport movement as well as the needs of pedestrians and cyclists.
The construction of the Grunwald Bridge in Krakow lasted four years and ended in 1972. The bridge is 153 meters long and 31.40 meters wide, it was originally to be named after Nicolaus Copernicus.
Source of the main photo: Shutterstock