The banks are connected! You can already see the full arches of the two Berdych bridges, a pedestrian and bicycle crossing that will connect important spaces of Poznan. The wide footbridges will be convenient for both pedestrians and cyclists. The visual effect? Very favorable.
Thenear-target silhouettes of the two new bridges in the center of Poznań have been visible for more than a week. Budimex construction crews have installed the last elements of the basic superstructure and connected the banks of the Warta River. Earlier, in April - a shorter bridge had already connected the banks of the relief trough diverging from the river. Now it's time to install the upper parts of the structure.
Construction of the Berdychowski Bridges in Poznań, June 2024. - View of both bridges from above the St. Roch Bridge
© PIM / Poznań Municipal Investments, www.pim.poznan.pl
This is what the Berdychowskie Bridges look like today, which will connect the Old Town, Ostrów Tumski, the campus of Poznań University of Technology and Lake Malta. They will also become a bicycle thoroughfare into the center for the residents of Poznan's right bank (the modernist Rataje district and the currently being developed Łacina).
Berdychowskie Bridges in Poznań - projection; on the left - Old Town, on the right - Technical University
© City of Poznań, design: consortium ARPA Architektoniczna Pracownia Jerzego Gurawskiego, Błażej Szurkowski, Maciej Sokolnicki and Adam Turczyn
no pedestrians getting run over
The planned end of the work is next spring. Poznaners and tourists will then be able to use the wide(12 meters at the widest point) crossing and the recreation and rest area located between them, on the headland of Ostrów Tumski (its construction is part of the whole investment). After successful lobbying by bicycle activists, the bridges will happily have room for separate lanes for cyclists. Thus, there will be no collision situations, of which the new and very popular footbridge connecting Warsaw's downtown with the Praga district is famous . Berdychov bridges will not only be a tourist attraction and a place to take photos, but will become an important element of the city's transportation infrastructure.
Berdychowskie Bridges in Poznań - visualization, view from the Old Town towards the Polytechnic University and Lake Malta, separated bicycle path visible
© City of Poznań, design: consortium ARPA Architektoniczna Pracownia Jerzego Gurawskiego, Błażej Szurkowski, Maciej Sokolnicki and Adam Turczyn.
There are, in fact, many more differences. Poznań's Berdychowskie Bridges (that's the name that replaced the earlier "Berdychowska Footbridge") are two independent structures: over the Warta River and its relief channel (which continues into the Cybina River). The first measures 165 meters and connects the Old Town (the Old Warta Trough park and the Old Gasworks area) with the southern tip of Ostrów Tumski. The second, 117 meters long, connects the Cathedral Island with the campus of Poznań University of Technology and Berdychowo Street, which leads toward Lake Malta and the settlements of the Rataje district.
Construction of the Berdychowo Bridges in Poznań, June 2024. - view from St. Roch Bridge of the arches of both crossings, with Ostrów Tumski with the cathedral in the background
photo: Jakub Głaz
The form of the new crossing is also different from Warsaw's, not so "feisty." The two long gentle arches fit very well into the panoramic views and do not compete, for example, with the silhouette of Ostrów T umski and the cathedral towering over it. Both rest only on abutments, with no additional supports between the banks (the structures supporting the arches visible in the photos are temporary). According to Poznan Municipal Investments:
A mobile crane with a lifting capacity of 1,200 tons is being used in the work and, according to the contractor, is the largest in the world in this category. (...) For the foundation of the crane, working platforms with the required load capacity have been prepared, along with foundations for each of the machine's supports. Once all the elements of the arch over the Warta River have been integrated, the installation of the upper elements of the steel structure, which is the platform for the structure, will begin.
Construction of the Berdychowski Bridges in Poznań, June 2024. - The crossing over the Warta River between the Old Town (right) and Ostrów Tumski/Zagórz (left), view from the Old Warta Corridor park towards the Polytechnic University and the Rataje district
photo: Jakub Głaz
The form of the bridges is visually very light despite the considerable weight of the structure. In the longer bridge, a single element weighs 25 tons (with a length of 25 meters), and the entire crossing is 1,500 tons.
competition instead of folding
A consortium of studios and designers is responsible for the shape of this successful form: Jerzy Gurawski's ARPA Architectural Studio, Blazej Szurkowski, Maciej Sokolnicki and Adam Turczyn. The concept won in an architectural competition six years ago, but it was necessary to wait until December last year to begin work. This is because the estimated cost of the crossing was constantly rising. From an initial ceiling of 30 million zlotys they skyrocketed to 158 million ( we described the details of this turmoil two years ago).
Berdychowskie Bridges in Poznań - visualization, view from above the St. Roch Bridge
© City of Poznań, design: consortium ARPA Architektoniczna Pracownia Jerzego Gurawskiego, Błażej Szurkowski, Maciej Sokolnicki and Adam Turczyn.
The successful competition, meanwhile, was a reaction to even earlier plans to build footbridges. In 2015, the City announced that it would build them mostly from dismantled spans of the historic Starołęcki (Dębiński) Railroad Bridge. However, the "folding bridge" concepts presented at the time stirred up a lot of controversy among architects and city activists. They pointed to the haphazardness of the form, its visual weight, and its competition with the silhouette of the Old Town and Ostrów Tumski. In the end, Joanna Bielawska-Pałczyńska, the city's conservator of monuments, who promoted the solution, gave it up and a competition was held. As a result, a much better form was chosen - favorable not only visually, but also functionally.
Construction of the Berdychowski Bridges in Poznań, June 2024. - A view of the shorter crossing over the ulga (Cybina) riverbed from the St. Roch Bridge toward Ostrow Tumski (left) and Śródka (right)
photo: Jakub Głaz
A catalyst for change?
The Berdych bridges will have a positive impact on the way people move around the city, enliven the adjacent areas and hopefully be a catalyst for their proper development. The Warta River waterfront and relief canal adjacent to the Polytechnic University campus have been asking for a meaningful project for years. So far, the university stamps its area with more buildings, but does not care about proper development of the surrounding areas. So far, only the construction of an exit ramp over the river, which is part of a bridge project, is underway here. Berdychowo Street is also to be rebuilt on the occasion, to connect the bridges to Lake Malta in a friendly way.
Construction of the Berdychowo Bridges in Poznań, June 2024. - Beginning of the arc of the shorter crossing from the side of the Polytechnic, view from the northeast toward the center (construction of the tallest skyscraper of the Andersia complex is visible)
photo: Jakub Głaz
Another very important challenge is to open up to the city the grounds of the historic and very attractive Old Gasworks, where the Old Town crossing abutment is located. The former gas plant now belongs to several state-owned companies and serves as offices and a parking lot. Surrounded by a fence and inaccessible to the general public, it awaits a good development program. Before that, however, it would be useful to pierce a passage in the wall leading through its site, so that Poznań residents can gradually tame this unfamiliar area and co-determine its future shape and function.
Construction of the Berdychowski Bridges in Poznań, June 2024. - The crossing over the Warta River leads from Ostrów Tumski directly to the Old Gasworks complex with its chimney
© PIM / Poznań Municipal Investments, www.pim.poznan.pl
Finally, the new crossing will provide a friendly connection between the Old Town and Ostrow Tumski. Today, pedestrians can get under the cathedral via the extremely unfriendly Chrobry Bridge, part of the so-called Chwaliszewska route, which unceremoniously cut the city apart more than half a century ago. The sidewalks are narrow, and there are no bike lanes on the very busy roadways. The bridge, moreover, is going for demolition and will be put up anew, except that - according to current plans - it will still be part of an expressway. Socialists, some architects and councilors of the Old Town neighborhood are fighting for a better solution and - planned for a long time - moving the Old Town bypass to the north. The example of the fight for the Berdychov Bridges competition shows that it is worth listening to them this time as well.
Construction of the Berdychowskie Bridges in Poznań, June 2024. - crossing of the Warta River seen from under the Chrobry Bridge, in the background on the left: the University of Technology, in front: St. Roch Church, on the right: PP and AWF dormitories
Photo: Jakub Głaz
