A ferryboat on the Váh river. (source: Branislav Koscelník)
For the next nine months or so, residents of the Strečno and Nezbudská Lúčka villages in northern Slovakia will have to handle how to get to work and their children to school.
The 65-year-old footbridge over the Váh, the only link between the two banks of the river in the tourist-attractive area between Strečno and Starhrad castles, closed at the end of March.
Find out more about region of folklore, national parks and modern attractions in our Žilina Region Travel Guide.
The footbridge is in a state of disrepair. In addition, the cycling path from Žilina towards Martin will lead through it. The footbridge needs to be extended to two metres in order for cyclists to get around comfortably.
Six or even nine months may pass until the steel parts are replaced and the 160-metre-long bridge is reconstructed.
For some residents of Nezbudská Lúčka, the problem arises in how to get to work. Many work in the Strečno industrial park.
In addition, there is no grocery store in Nezbudská Lúčka, and locals go shopping over the footbridge. On the contrary, the people of Strečno use the railway station in the neighbouring village for their transfers by train.
