Baths Bridge ( pl, Most Łazienkowski) is a five-
span
Span may refer to:
Science, technology and engineering
* Span (unit), the width of a human hand
* Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports
* Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft
* Sorbitan es ...
steel bridge, across the
Vistula
The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in t ...
in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
. It is 423 m long and 28 m wide, holding three lanes for vehicles each way, dedicated cycling lanes and sidewalks for pedestrians. The name refers to the
Łazienki Park
Łazienki Park or Royal Baths Park ( pl, Park Łazienkowski, Łazienki Królewskie) is the largest park in Warsaw, Poland, occupying 76 hectares of the city center.
The park-and-palace complex lies in Warsaw's central district ('' Śródmieście ...
and
Łazienki Palace, which are located to the south-west of the bridge.
The bridge was opened along with the
Łazienkowska Thoroughfare on 22 July 1974, after three years' construction. At the bridgeheads interchanges were constructed with the
Wisłostrada on the left bank and
Wał Miedzyszyński on the right one.
Between 1981 and 1998 the bridge was formally named ' ( en, General
Zygmunt Berling
Zygmunt Henryk Berling (27 April 1896 – 11 July 1980) was a Polish general and politician. He fought for the independence of Poland in the early 20th century. Berling was a co-founder and commander of the First Polish Army, which fought on th ...
Baths Bridge) in honor of a Polish military commander who collaborated with the Soviets during World War II, but in practice, this name was almost never used. On a lawn underneath an entrance ramp on north-eastern side of the bridge a monument to the communist collaborator was unveiled in 1985, finally torn down in 2019 and transferred to the
Museum of Polish History
The Museum of Polish History or the Polish History Museum ( pl, Muzeum Historii Polski) is a museum and national cultural institute in Warsaw, Poland. The purpose of the museum is to present the most important events in Polish history, with a par ...
.
Between 2002 and 2014 the ramps connecting the bridge to the streets along both banks of the river had to be all gradually replaced due to their poor technical condition.
Fire
Below the street level, the bridge has a service corridor, mainly for inspection, but also housing certain installations: medium voltage electricity, telecommunication fiber-optics, etc. Since its construction, this corridor had a wooden floor. Due to safety concerns, it was decided to replace all wood and other flammable materials with non-flammable ones. Ironically, on 14 February 2015, during replacement works when a protective layer of asbestos was already removed, a fire broke out on the eastern bank, under the bridge where the dismantled materials were temporarily stored. The flames reached the bridge and set fire on yet-to-be-dismantled elements. Initially it was expected that the fire should not cause serious damage, however, post-fire examination revealed that the flame temperature reached 1000 °C and damaged the steel load-bearing elements enough that the bridge required a serious refurbishment, which cost 104 million złoty (about €25 million). It was reopened to the public on 20 October 2015.
In 2017 two gangways were constructed underneath the sides of the bridge dedicated for cyclists and pedestrians, improving traffic safety by separating cyclists from vehicular traffic and providing convenient access to the bridge from the esplanades on the banks of the Vistula river.
See also
*
Poniatowski Bridge
The Poniatowski Bridge ( pl, Most Poniatowskiego) is a bridge in Warsaw, Poland. Originally built between 1904 and 1914, it was damaged in each World War and rebuilt after each. It spans the Vistula River, connecting Warsaw's Powiśle and Prag ...
*
Świętokrzyski Bridge
The Świętokrzyski Bridge ( pl, most Świętokrzyski, en, Holy Cross Bridge) is a bridge over the Vistula river in Warsaw, Poland linking Powiśle neighbourhood with Praga Północ district.
It is a cable-stayed bridge, 479 m long, with two l ...
*
Siekierkowski Bridge
External links
*
Bridges completed in 1974
Bridges in Warsaw
Road bridges in Poland
{{Warsaw-struct-stub