Góra Kalwaria. Tender for a railway bridge, what about a pedestrian and bicycle footbridge?

Railway workers announced a tender for the reconstruction of the bridge in Góra Kalwaria. The fate of the crossing from the 1950s seems to be sealed, although it is still in the register of monuments. What about the pedestrian and bicycle bridge?

The contractor selected in the tender will prepare executive designs and carry out construction works. The scope of work includes the railway line from the Czachówek Wschodni station to Pilawy.

– The tracks, traction network and traffic control devices will be modernized, which will allow for the restoration of passenger connections at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour. Freight trains will be able to run at the same speed on the new tracks – the line from Skierniewice to Łuków constitutes a freight bypass for Warsaw – informed Karol Jakubowski from the press office of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe.

There will be a two-track structure

An important element of this task will be the construction of a new railway bridge over the Vistula River in Góra Kalwaria. There will be two tracks on it (the current crossing is a single-track structure), thanks to which the so-called bottleneck will be eliminated. Currently, it is rather theoretical, because only freight traffic takes place on the line, which is very limited after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. But this is about to change.

Stations and stops will be modernized, platforms adapted to the needs of people with limited mobility. There will be new shelters, benches and passenger information elements.

Railway workers plan to spend approximately PLN 1.3 billion on the modernization of the section from Czachówek Wschodnie to Pilawa, together with the bridge in Góra Kalwaria. The works are to be carried out in 2025-28. Next (2026-2029), the investor will work on the section between Skierniewice and Czachówek.

Entered into the register of monuments

PKP PLK is consistently pushing for the demolition of the existing bridge, claiming that the structure from the 1950s is in terrible technical condition. Hence, the application was submitted to the Masovian Provincial Conservator of Monuments to remove the bridge from the register of monuments, which we wrote about in October. The conservation office did not answer our questions about whether it had already made a decision on this matter.

– The facility in Góra Kalwaria is entered in the register of monuments, which makes it a monument. The bridge is not included in the register of monuments (higher form of protection – ed.). The conservator discontinued the proceedings to enter the facility into the register of monuments – noted Karol Jakubowski.

He repeated that the bridge was in poor technical condition. – Which is confirmed by the decision of construction supervision regarding the need to replace the viaduct spans and rebuild the supports. The scope of work resulting from the decision is equivalent to the construction of the facility from scratch – the PKP PLK spokesman left no doubt.

He also noticed “numerous disadvantages” of the structure built in the 1950s. – The facility has places that are difficult to clean and where dirt accumulates, causing rapid corrosion. Hence, despite the relatively young age of the facility, it is significantly technically degraded. Moreover, it is equipped with bridges and the drainage system is open to the Vistula River – he argued.

That's why railway workers are determined to build again.

The fate of the pedestrian and bicycle footbridge is at stake

The issue of adding a pedestrian and bicycle footbridge to the bridge remains open. In this area – with great recreational potential – pedestrians and cyclists cannot safely travel between the banks of the Vistula. The road bridge on the national road “50” is narrow and blocked by trucks, and the ferry in Gassy only runs in the summer. Hence the initiative of Marcin Podgórzak, the village head of the nearby Glineki, to run a pedestrian and bicycle bridge along the crossing.. The idea was supported by the mayors of Karczew and Góra Kalwaria.

“You will probably ask whether the announcement of the tender did not finally kill the idea of ​​locating a pedestrian and bicycle footbridge on the new bridge. Well, no, together with PKP and the Góra Kalwaria Commune, we are working to make our dreams come true,” Michał Rudzki, mayor, assured recently on Facebook Karczew.

We confirmed this information with Karol Jakubowski. – We have proposed the possibility of adapting the facility to the needs of pedestrians and cyclists, and this idea is being consulted with local governments – a representative of PKP PLK told us.