With the Chain Bridge, Elizabeth Bridge and Liberty Bridge ever busier, Budapest is looking to build another crossing over the Danube to relieve traffic congestion. With a link proposed between Újbuda and southern Pest via Csepel island, also opening up this underdeveloped side of the city, 17 firms from around the world submitted their tenders for the final design. The Centre for Major Government Investment (KKBK) selected six plans. Three were awarded prizes, while the other three blueprints have been purchased for future consideration.
This is the first international call for tender for the construction of a new bridge over the Danube since the 19th century. Among the 17offices invited by KKBK Zrt. – the organisation that manages major developments in Budapest – are renowned international firms responsible for the new Olympic Bridge in Paris, a new crossing in New York, and the Öresund that connects Sweden and Denmark.
The idea of a new river crossing in the southern part of Budapest was included in city development plans back in the 1980s. In the 1990s, the General Assembly of Budapest specified its location and carried out a tender, but due to the lack of funds it was never realised. Originally planned for the 2024 Olympic Games, together with the construction of a bypass route, the so-called New Danube Bridge shouldreduce traffic through the centre of the city. According to estimates, the number of vehicles going across other bridges would be reduced by 55,000 each day. Traffic along Határ út and Üllői út would decrease significantly, too.
Aesthetics, innovation and feasibility were the jury's most crucial criteria, given that the new crossing will be a 21st-century landmark. KKBK Zrt. selected six design plans, bought three of them, and awarded prizes to three others. These included the construction by Pont-terv Mérnöki Tervező és Tanácsadó Zrt., which resembles the Tiszavirág Bridge in Szolnok, and the one-pylon structures of Speciálterv Építőmérnöki Kft. and Knight ArchitectsOve Arup & Partners Ltd. The latter was praised for its innovative solution of linking the shore and the bridge, comfortable for both cyclists and pedestrians.
Two contestants were awarded second prize. Lavigne & Chéron Architectes submitted a two-pylon construction: their solution for the pedestrian crossing is unique, as it seems to be hovering above the river, separated from traffic, providing a relaxing, pleasant walk across the bridge. Another second prize was awarded to Zaha Hadid’s company, which may be the most unconventional among the plans. The main part of the bridge does not lean towards the shore at a 72-degree angle, but gently spirals around a pillar in the middle of the river. The design by UNStudio and BuroHappold Engineering, a spectacular cable-stayed structure, was singled out in top place.
Despite these exciting, modern and unique designs, many have questioned the need for such a bridge, given the fact that the 2024 Olympic Games won’t be organised here after all. Another problem is that the road networks leading to the bridgeheads at Galvani út in Buda and Illatos út in Pest may not be extensive enough.
The new construction is slated to be up and running by the second half of the 2020s. The detailed development phase will start after the tender is closed.
