The old pedestrian bridge between the villages of Švošov and Hubová, Liptov Region. (source: Romana Vicianová)
In 1968, a pedestrian bridge was built to connect the villages of Švošov and Hubová near the town of Ružomberok, northern Slovakia.
Even since, hundreds of people from both villages used it on a daily basis; the residents of Švošov walked the bridge to get to the bus, while it allowed the residents of Hubová to reach the train.
Later, the ownership of the bridge was transferred to Švošov. However, eight years ago its mayor closed it based on a structural assessment. With the ropes in the worst condition, the bridge shut down in 2019 due to a state of emergency, forcing locals to opt for a six-kilometre detour.
However, instead of walking to the nearest bridge, locals have disregarded the state of emergency and continued to use the closed bridge.
Now, Švošov has obtained funds for the construction of a completely new bridge, the My Liptov website writes. Already there is noise at the site.
The visualisation of the new bridge between the villages. (source: LSS)
It will serve not only pedestrians, but cyclists as well. Moreover, emergency services will be able to use it should the occasion arise. The bridge is supposed to be more than 70 metres long and be eight metres higher than the original.
With a single 24-metre supporting pylon topped by a circular plarform, the bridge will resemble the Most SNP bridge in Bratislava. But instead of a restaurant on a platform known colloquially as UFO, the platform should serve as a temporary nesting place for storks.
The project should be finished by November this year.
