Draft:Footbridge over the Vistula River in Warsaw

Footbridge over the Vistula River in Warsaw a pedestrian and bicycle footbridge on the Vistula River in Warsaw, which connects Powiśle with Stara Praga. .

Location
In choosing the location, two concepts were primarily considered: at the level of Karowa Street or at the level of Ratuszowa Street. Ultimately, the choice fell on the former. This is another concept of locating a crossing over the Vistula River in this place - in the 1920s, a decision was made to build a 1.5-kilometer bridge over the Vistula in the axis of Karowa Street. In the spring of 1937, a competition was held for its design, which was won by the Zieleniewski and Fitzner-Gamper company from Krakow. The six-span bridge was to be supported on 5 pillars and was intended for tram, vehicular, and pedestrian traffic. The planned width of the roadway was 17 meters, and the sidewalks were 5 meters wide. The bridge was to be named after Marshal Józef Piłsudski.

In February 1945, at the site of the current footbridge, sappers of the Red Army built a provisional pontoon bridge with a wooden structure. It had 23 spans with a width of 6.5 meters and was equipped with pedestrian walkways 1.5 meters wide.

Preparations for construction
The crossing was to connect Karowa Street with Okrzei Street. It was intended to serve both transportation and tourism purposes.

The city allocated funds amounting to 30 million PLN for this purpose. The footbridge was planned to be built between 2018 and 2019. In August 2017, during the footbridge design competition, the Director of the City Roads Management Board announced that it would be completed within 2-3 years. Forty entries were submitted for the mentioned competition. In September 2017, the selection of the joint project by Schüßler-Plan Engineers from Warsaw and DKFS Architects from London was announced, with the construction of the crossing scheduled to begin in 2019. The contract for the footbridge design was signed on March 2, 2018. In November of the same year, a location decision was issued, and the announcement of the tender for the contractor was made to ensure that the construction would be completed by spring 2021.

In March 2019, delays in project preparation were reported, with assurance of maintaining the final deadline for completion by 2021. The delay was attributed to changes in the Water Law. A similar situation occurred in July, and further delays were reported in December of the same year. Then, in July 2020, information surfaced regarding the lack of a project implementation schedule and insufficient funds secured for construction.

In March 2021, the authorities of Warsaw announced a return to the idea of building the footbridge and entrusted the supervision of the project to the City Roads Management Board. The opening of the crossing was announced for the turn of 2023 and 2024. On October 14, 2021, the contractor (Budimex) was selected, with an offer of 120.988 million PLN, and on November 23, a contract was signed with the contractor.

In August 2022, a competition for the name of the footbridge was announced, with the name "Agrafka" (Eng. "Safety Pin") winning. However, there is no guarantee that this name will be adopted by the City Council of Warsaw.

In connection with the construction of the footbridge, plans have also been made for the construction of a pedestrian crossing and a bicycle lane across the Wisłostrada, as well as the reconstruction of Okrzei Street.

Construction
The construction of the footbridge began with piling in March 2022. In December 2022, the construction of reinforced concrete pillars was completed. In April 2023, the first span (from the Praga side) was installed. In October 2023, the last span was installed, and the footbridge connected both banks of the Vistula. The footbridge was opened for use on March 28, 2024.

Description
The footbridge, when viewed from above, has the shape of a lightning bolt (it is bent at two points). In the middle, viewing terraces with seating are located. The slope on the structure is approximately 6 percent.

The footbridge has a rusty color of Corten steel.

Controversies
The idea of ​​building the footbridge before the start of construction sparked controversy, mainly regarding the amount needed to implement the project (approximately 120 million PLN). It was criticized by councilors of the Ursynów district. In June 2022, there were also reports of a lack of feasibility study and cost-benefit analysis for the investment.