Demolition of the footbridge over the busy road I/35 near Smetana's house in Litomyšl, March 18, 2023.
Litomyšl (Svitava region) – In Litomyšl, workers started demolition in the morning footbridge at Smetana's house over the busy road I/35, which forms a stretch through the city. The footbridge was in bad condition, it will be replaced by a new concrete structure. Due to the demolition, the road is closed, cars will return to it on Sunday morning at the earliest, but traffic will be limited to two of the four lanes.
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The construction company had previously removed the metal railing from the overpass. Before the actual demolition, she spread a layer of crushed stone on the road so that falling pieces of the structure would not damage the road. The demolished material will be removed gradually. “The company assumes that it will not be necessary to have the road closed until 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, as the closure is allowed, but that it will end earlier, depending on how the demolition goes,” Pavel Kubeš, head of the city office's investment department, told ČTK.
The workers are demolishing the overpass lengthwise, they started half way from Smetana's house. They gradually remove the reinforced concrete parts of the structure with an excavator, load them onto trucks and take them away from the construction site.
The road is closed from the roundabout at the Dalibor Hotel to the traffic lights. On the weekend, detour routes for vehicles over 3.5 meters in height run in both directions due to the low height of the railway viaduct in T. G. Masaryk Street across Smetanovo náměstí. Vehicles up to a height of 3.5 meters drive along T. G. Masaryk Street. For the next phase of the reconstruction, which will last until October 31 this year, traffic on the road in the section will be narrowed to two lanes. According to regional police spokesperson Markéta Janovská, there are no traffic problems in the city, traffic is lower on the weekend.
The footbridge was about 40 years old, probes recently found that it was in poor condition and the iron reinforcements were corroding. The new overpass will again be a concrete structure made of prefabricated materials, the overall appearance will not differ much from the original one.
The cost of building the new overpass should reach 21.75 million crowns without VAT. Litomyšl received a promise of a subsidy from the State Transport Infrastructure Fund in full for the construction.
Last year in December, the city opened a modern barrier-free overpass with a lift that crosses the I/35 road near the city office and the polyclinic, the costs reached 45 million crowns. The original one from 1977 had to be demolished due to its poor condition. The new one is made up of visible concrete, steel and glass and has a view of the historic core of Litomyšl. The shape of the new, more subtle construction was approved by conservationists. The elevator is primarily for the immobile or families with strollers. It will be locked at night to prevent vandals from destroying it. For the construction, the town hall received a subsidy from the State Transport Infrastructure Fund.
