| Maria Skłodowska-Curie Bridge | |
|---|---|
Bridge under construction on 10 May 2011 |
|
| Official name | Most Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie |
| Carries | Motor vehicles, Light rail, Bicycles, Pedestrians |
| Crosses | Vistula River |
| Locale | Warsaw, Poland |
| Designer | Schüßler-Plan Ingenieurgesellschaft GmbH |
| Design | Beam bridge |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | 795 metres (2,608 ft) |
| Longest span | 160 metres (520 ft) |
| Number of spans | 10 |
| Clearance below | 9 metres (30 ft) |
| Construction begin | 20 May 2009 |
| Construction end | expected early of 2012[1] |
The Maria Skłodowska-Curie Bridge, formerly North Bridge, is a road bridge over the Vistula River currently under construction in Warsaw, Poland. When completed it will be the eighth road bridge in the capital of Poland, and will link the northern suburbs of Białołęka and Bielany. The President of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, announced that she would petition the Warsaw City Council to name the bridge after Pope John Paul II. However, on 1 December 2011 the bridge name was officially changed to Maria Skłodowska-Curie Bridge to honour the Polish double Nobel Prize winner.
The construction, which started with a sod turning ceremony on 3 June 2009, is scheduled to be completed in 32 months. The work is being carried out by Pol-Aqua in cooperation with Spanish group Sando and Kromiss-Bis.[2] The bridge will actually consist of three parallel bridges, two for motor vehicles and one for light rail, bicycles and pedestrians.
The width of the river at the proposed bridge is about 650 metres. On the west bank of the Vistula the bridge is to form an extension of ul. Zgrupowania AK "Kampinos" (formerly ul. Wincentego Pstrowskiego), and on the east ul. Obrazkowa. This will be the second river crossing in Warsaw, after Most Świętokrzyski, which will be at ground level on both banks of the river. At Białołęka, the route will proceed on earthen embankments, as well as at Bielany, where the route will join the Wisłostrada, the principal north-south route through central Warsaw. Here, it is planned to build the most complex intersection in Warsaw. The target is to seamlessly connect five multi-lane streets, three tramway lines and junctions for local roads.