Mayor Thanks Many - inc Gov't - While Reopening Budapest's Chain Bridge

  • 19 Dec 2022 8:01 AM
  • Hungary Matters
Mayor Thanks Many - inc Gov't - While Reopening Budapest's Chain Bridge
Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony reopened the capital city’s landmark Chain Bridge undergoing reconstruction to buses, taxis, motorbikes and bicycles on Friday afternoon.

“Let the Chain Bridge be a bridge between the present and the future, a bridge reconnecting the city’s Pest and Buda sides and reconnecting a divided, fragmented country,” Karácsony said at the event.

The mayor thanked the designers, the construction company and the Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) for their work carried out so far, as well as Budapest residents for their patience bearing with the inconvenience caused by the renovation. He also thanked the government for its work, saying that “the government ought to share such a joint success as the renovation of the Chain Bridge”.

The bridge will reopen to pedestrians once the upgrade’s last phase is completed which is expected in the late summer of 2023, Karácsony said, adding that the city will also seek the opinion of Budapest’s residents in finalising the operation of transport services on the bridge.

László Sal, the chief executive of the construction company A-Híd, said 80% of the reconstruction work has been completed which involved reinforcing 20 tonnes of metal structure, installing 900 tonnes of steel grids, polishing stone surfaces and adding new anti-corrosion coating to the chains.

Katalin Walter, BKK’s CEO, said that the bridge reopened for temporary traffic as planned 548 days after its full closure in June last year.

The 26.75 billion forint (EUR 65m) renovation of the Chain Bridge and its immediate vicinity is expected to be completed by next autumn, in time for celebrations marking the anniversary of the formation of Budapest on November 17.

Related links

Gov't Refuse to Pay HUF 6 Billion for Budapest Chain Bridge Renewal

  • How does this content make you feel?

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

Explore More Reports

  • Budapest Bike-Sharing Scheme Expanded

    Budapest Bike-Sharing Scheme Expanded

    • 3 Apr 2023 2:32 PM

    MOL has enlarged its bike-sharing service by adding seven new docking stations in Budapest’s Third District, including one on Szent¬lélek tér next to a HÉV suburban rail station.

  • Purchase of 14,000 E-Bikes Subsidised in Hungary

    Purchase of 14,000 E-Bikes Subsidised in Hungary

    • 26 Sep 2022 6:16 AM

    The second round of a government tender supporting e-bikes has closed early due to outsized demand, and has contributed to the purchase of some 14,000 bikes in two rounds, energy policy state secretary Attila Steiner said.

  • Bubi Celebrates Three Millionth Ride

    Bubi Celebrates Three Millionth Ride

    • 24 Aug 2022 11:43 AM

    The Budapest transport centre BKK presented the three millionth Bubi rider with an annual pass in commemoration of the latest ridership milestone on Tuesday.