Libeňský most may see some traffic in a month

A contractor has been selected to get the bridge Libeňský most back open to traffic within a month. Complete repairs, however, will take several years.

In another development, the ferry between Karlín and Holešovice, which usually does not work in the winter months, will start to run Feb. 1.

This is intended to help the complicated traffic situation after the closure of the bridge to public transit and cars due to its emergency condition.

Pedestrians and cyclists can still cross the bridge, which was found to be at risk of collapse if too many heavy vehicles were on it at one time.

The Technical Administration of Roadways (TSK) has chosen a construction company to make Libeňský most safe enough that so that some traffic can run on it. The bridge will be secured by the firm SMP CZ for Kč 12 million.

Companies could submit applications up to 10 am on Jan. 26 in the call for tenders. TSK then evaluated which company offered the lowest price and the shortest time.

Support will have to be improved on the Libeň side and some repairs made on the Holešovice side of the bridge. This should be done within 30 days.

The modifications will then be evaluated to see if it is safe for some traffic to cross the bridge.

The city will restart operation of the P7 ferry early. It runs between the Pražská tržnice, Štvanice ostrov, and Rohanský ostrov. Most Prague ferries are seasonal and run from the beginning of April until the end of October. Two normally run year round.

Prague has also introduced two extra bus lines, one each in Libeň and Holešovice, that go to the edge of the closed bridge so people would not have to walk the whole route from Palmovka to Dělnická. New timetables will be introduced Jan. 29 for the X25 and X126 bus.

Since the bridge was put into operation in 1928, its supporting structure has not been repaired. If the Ministry of Culture declares Libeňský most a monument, a full operation will return at the earliest in eight years. If it is not a monument, the repair could end in less than three years, Deputy Mayor Petr Dolínek (ČSSD) said this week.

The city had been planning to replace the bridge with a wider one, but public outcry caused the city to decide in 2016 to preserve the bridge and repair it. It was not declared a landmark at that time though.

The concrete bridge was designed by architects Pavel Janák and František Mencl. It replaced a wooden bridge built in 1903. Libeňský most opened April 29, 1928, for the 10th anniversary of Czechoslovakia.

The bridge was originally Masarykův most, and was called Baxův most in 1939 and '40, and then Libeňský most from 1940 to '45, then Baxův most again from 1945 to '52. It was Stalingradský most from 1952 to '62 and then Libeňský most since then.