The Lettenviaduct will be extended to a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.
The steel bridge construction will lead from the police and justice center to Viaduct-/Geroldstrasse and connect to the Lettenviaduct.
Zurich is to get a new bridge. Between districts 4 and 5, the civil engineering office is planning a crossing over the tracks for pedestrians and cyclists.
Today, anyone who wants to cycle from the Maag-Halle to Europaallee can either take the car over the Hardbrücke or through the Langstrasse underpass, or carry the bike up the steps of the Negrellisteg. It should be easier in the future: the Letten Viaduct will be extended with a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.
The planned bridge does not yet have a name, but the winning project does. It’s called “landscape bridge”. The bridge will lead from the cantonal police and justice center under the existing coal triangle bridge (diameter line) over the tracks and on the Wipkinger viaduct into district 5. The bridge will be 530 meters long and up to 8 meters wide and will cost around 75 million Swiss francs.
The project was advertised in March last year. The judging panel unanimously chose the winning project entitled “Landscape Bridge” – four others would have been able to choose from.
At the media conference, Simone Rangosch, Director of the Civil Engineering Department, raved about the “elegant and innovative” construction. “The green strip, which is up to 1.5 meters wide, will make crossing the bridge pleasant and cool in hot summers,” she said.
And City Councilor Richard Wolff added: “With this bridge, we are creating another district connection that promotes pedestrian and bicycle traffic. In addition, there will be a vantage point above the tracks.”
In fact, the visualization of the bridge with the greenery is somewhat reminiscent of a world-famous vantage point: the Highline in New York. But it is unlikely to become a tourist magnet like the famous model – the view of the track field is noticeably less spectacular than that of the streets of New York.
In addition, pedestrians and cyclists should not linger too long on the bridge. That’s why no benches are planned. “There shouldn’t be a party on the bridge,” said Wolff. The main reason for this is safety concerns on the part of SBB.
The visualization of the bridge with the greenery is reminiscent of a world-famous vantage point: the Highline in New York.
And the bridge won’t be there any time soon either: According to the public planning requirements, a referendum on the construction project is planned for 2027. Construction would therefore start in 2028 at the earliest and be completed in 2031 at the earliest – 15 years after the civil engineering office and SBB first discussed the project.
