A pedestrian and bicycle bridge in Warsaw has connected the two banks of the Vistula River

A pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Vistula has already connected the boulevards with Praga. If construction work continues as planned, pedestrians and cyclists will be able to use the new crossing as early as spring 2024

The investment is being carried out by Budimex. The city has spent almost PLN 121 million on the construction. The pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Vistula is part of a larger project of changes being implemented under the banner of the New Centre of Warsaw. As part of this project, places in the city centre are being redeveloped, gaining more greenery and becoming pedestrian and cyclist friendly

A new footbridge has just connected the two banks of the Vistula at the level of Karowa and Stefan Okrzei streets. In total, the structure is 452 metres long. Once it is open, it will only take a six-minute walk to get from one bank to the other. Covering this route by bicycle will take less than two minutes

The design of the footbridge promises to create an irregularly shaped structure. The footbridge is narrower in some places and wider in others. On the left bank, before the last pillar, the crossing widens and splits into two ramps that pass over the boulevards at the level of the Wybrzeze Kosciuszkowskie pavement

Construction is progressing according to plan and has already entered the final stage of completion. Importantly, the rapid progress of the work shows that such facilities, with an experienced and motivated team, can be completed very quickly, even in such a complex and infrastructurally sensitive environment as the city centre. On the bridge, work is still underway to install the components responsible for transferring tensile and compressive forces, as well as fittings such as balustrades and lighting. Everything indicates, however, that the crossing between the two banks of the Vistula will soon be easier than ever for pedestrians and cyclists thanks to the opening of the bridge,” says Adam Grzelczak, Contract Manager at Budimex S.A

The footbridge has been constructed of steel covered with paint in an orange-brown colour similar to rust. The structure is expected to stand up well to the higher humidity levels typical of riverside areas. Pedestrians and cyclists will travel on a resin-lined surface in a light grey colour. The footbridge is almost 7 m wide at its narrowest point and widens to more than 16 m above the river current

Importantly, small viewpoints will be created on the footbridge – equipped with benches to enable short rests. These will be wooden seats. The entire structure will be illuminated by light sources located in the railings

The design of the footbridge was selected in an international competition held in 2016. At the time, the winning concept was proposed by Schüßler-Plan, the Polish branch of the German design office, and DKFS Architects from London

source: UM Warszawa, Budimex

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