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It will take twice as long to repair this bridge as it did to build it… in the 19th century. “We have a ridiculous Vistula pier here.”
In Tchev, for five years, an 875-meter-long wharf has been running parallel to the railway bridge over the Vistula. It's no joke – the 167-year-old Tchev Road Bridge, which is officially about 1,030 meters long, has no connection to the mainland on the Tchev side. In theory, it should connect the counties of Tczew and Malbork, in practice it is almost the longest pier in Poland. And certainly the most historical. “Land of the Absurd” – Andrzej Duda thundered in 2015. The fight to save money has been going on for thirteen years.
The history of the reconstruction of the Tchev bridge is the material of a sad series. The latest news can be summarized as follows: PLN 65 million is on schedule for the next stage of renovation. The money comes from the Order of Poland, i.e. from the PiS government. The deadline for announcing the tender is January 25. The Civil Alliance is looking for alternative solutions to settle the issue once and for all. Because more than 200 million is needed for complete repair.
Like the Eiffel Tower
The historical sources are consistent – the Tczew Bridge is an absolute engineering masterpiece of its time.
– Other bridges throughout Europe have been built on the basis of our bridge, at least in the next two decades, – emphasizes Łukasz Brjadkovski, mayor of the city of Tczew, co-author of the album “Mosti Tczewski”. And he notes: – The Society of American Civil Engineers recognized it as a normal stage in the development of world engineering, next to the Eiffel Tower or the Panama Canal. Moreover, this is where the Second World War began – the first bombs fell on Tczew (the attack took place 11 minutes before Westerplatte, the bridge was partially blown up by the Poles defending it – ed.).
The 167-year-old Tczew Dawny Tczew road bridge
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