Dvorecký Bridge to ease Barrandov Bridge traffic

From the perspective of construction and the possibility of safe use, bridges for foot and vehicle traffic are evaluated on a scale of from one to seven, where seven means acute disrepair. This can even lead to accidents, such as the one that happened to the Troja footbridge, which has now been rebuilt. The new Troja footbridge is wider and easier to inspect from the perspective of its technical condition and it should last for another hundred years.

The busiest Prague road is the Barrandov Bridge, over which up to 143 000 cars pass every day. It has been ranked a five. Its reconstruction began recently and the handover of the completed structure is planned for the year 2025. In the first year of reconstruction, the traffic on the bridge should not be restricted, because the work is currently being performed on the bridge structure. The closure of traffic lanes will not begin until 2022. The bridge was built with a life expectancy of a hundred years and the basic materials, such as concrete and steel, actually last that long. But the roads, as well as the pavements and other parts of the bridge “superstructure” wear out faster due to the enormous traffic.

The intensity of the traffic on Barrandov Bridge will increase after the Radlice Ring Road will be put into operation, which is being prepared by the Investment Department of Prague City Hall. That is why it is necessary to prepare the entire junction in advance. The Czech Technical University, in cooperation with the companies PUDIS and SATRA, is preparing a solution for how to improve the traffic situation. The study proposes the restructuring of the interchanges, which will extend the “mixing sections” on the bridge. It is these outside lanes where vehicles drive onto and off of Barrandov Bridge that decrease its capacity the most. There are several options on the table that have been verified by traffic simulations. So far, these sections have been extended in all the considered variations, while some solutions even contain a new connection to the surrounding road network.

The new Dvorecký Bridge should also ease traffic on Barrandov Bridge. Upon its completion it will mainly serve buses and trams, but also pedestrian and bike traffic. The expenses for its construction will rise to one billion crowns and it should be finished in less than four years. It will lead from the edge of Smíchov and Hlubočepy to Podolí. Thus, there will primarily be a decrease of intensive bus traffic on Barrandov Bridge, thus giving rise to more room for smooth automobile traffic. The trams will get onto Dvorecký Bridge by the already-completed tracks leading from the Zlíchov section of Nádražní Street, where the tram tracks were recently reconstructed. As part of the fulfilment of Prague’s sustainable mobility plan, the tram tracks will be extended from the area of Dvorce all the way to the Budějovická metro station and on to Pankrác. But the local residents, who are worried about a decrease in the number of parking spots in front of their buildings, are primarily resisting the introduction of trams to Jeremenkova Street. On Budějovická Street, however, the tracks, which were used until the 1970s, are being renewed. After the discontinuation of the tram service, the median strip was used as a parking lot.