Pedestrian bridge from Prague 7 to 8 nears spring completion

The pedestrian footbridge linking Prague's Holešovice and Karlín neighborhoods has been under construction for the past year, and is on schedule to open this spring, according to Prague 8 officials.

The new bridge will save residents and others in the neighborhood a significant amount of travel time. Going from riverside hangout Přístav 18600 to Prague Market (Pražská tržnice), for example, will become a five minute walk instead of a journey involving two public transport vehicles.

"[Construction] began almost a year ago, and now most of the 57 concrete segments that the footbridge consists of are in place," Prague 8 councilor Tomáš Slabihoudek says on social media.

"We regularly check its progress, and despite the difficult situation in the construction industry we do not anticipate any significant delays."

The new bridge has long been nicknamed HolKa, after the Holešovice and Karlín neighborhoods that it will connect. The project was talked about for decades, but officially announced in 2020, with construction beginning at the start of 2022.

It will replace Prague's beloved HolKa ferry, a public transport boat that sailed its last journey at the end of 2021. Construction of the bridge at the location prevented the ferry from operating over the past year.

Upon completion, HolKa will become the 18th bridge in Prague spanning the Vltava river. The city's bridges have drawn a lot of attention in recent years, with Barrandov Bridge currently undergoing major reconstruction and Libeň Bridge looking forward to renovations. The fate of the city's Railway Bridge is still up in the air.

The HolKa footbridge will be just under 300 meters in length, making it one of the shortest in the city next to the Troja footbridge, which was rebuilt in 2020. It includes a mid-way stop at Štvanice Island, with an 84-meter ramp providing access.

The bridge will also connect with the riverside A2 bike path in Karlín, which is currently undergoing extensive renovations that include a widening of its lanes.

"In mid-January we started the reconstruction of the last section of the bike path on Rohanský Island," says Prague 8 spokesperson Martin Jedlička.

"Just like the previous section at the Libeň Bridge, we will expand the bike path to four meters [wide] here instead of the current muddy trail. We also plan on the construction of missing public lighting."