On March 3, i.e. today at 8 p.m., construction of the traffic diversion on the Népliget overpass will begin - Budapest Közút informed Világgazdaság about this. In practice, this means that from Saturday, March 4th, you will still be able to travel on two lanes out of the bridge, but only one traffic lane in the direction of the center.

The change is temporary, but anyone who expects it to remain in effect for only a short time is wrong: the restriction is expected to last until July, so for sure for four months. And this affects the masses without exaggeration, since the Népliget flyover and the intersection below it are one of the busiest road sections in Budapest.

The Ferencvárosi Torna Club also drew attention to the closure and that everyone should leave on time for the Fradi-Mezőkövesd match starting at 8:15 p.m.

According to estimates, the daily traffic of the bridge over the intersection of Üllői út and Könyves Kálmán körút is approximately 15,000 vehicles in each direction. In other words, approximately 30,000 vehicles cross the bridge in 24 hours.

The closure only affects inbound traffic, so roughly half of this volume may suffer the most if one lane is lost for a longer period of time on the Népliget flyover. You can also know exactly how progress on it is limited. On the side towards the city center, the outer lane will be closed for approximately 200 meters in front of the Mint. It is not possible to determine in advance how the traffic will be rearranged because of this, in any case, it is likely that some of the traffic going north on Üllői út will continue its journey on the Könyves Kálmán körút instead of the overpass. On Üllői út, in the morning and afternoon rush hours, you can expect larger queues and slower traffic.

There will therefore be traffic jams even though the contractor carrying out the works is constantly trying to disrupt road traffic as little as possible. Regardless of this, the BKK drew attention to the fact that the capacity of the overpass will be smaller than the current one, so it recommends public transport, especially the M3 metro, for those heading towards the city centre.

As previously reported by Világgazdaság, the closure is necessary because a detailed examination of the condition of the artefact, handed over in 1978, has begun. In relation to the 45-year-old bridge, which has a special transport role and is exposed to huge loads, Budapest Közút emphasized that it is still possible to drive safely on it, taking into account the weight restrictions in force: vehicles heavier than 12 tons are not allowed to drive over it, and in the case of buses operated by BKK, those over 19 tons the ban applies to heavier vehicles.

According to the paper, the investigation is looking for an answer to the question of whether or not the Népliget flyover should be demolished.

And all this is confirmed by an official document. At the end of December, a notice was posted with the letterhead of the National Road and Shipping Authority Department of the Budapest Capital Government Office. The subject of this was a decision made in a demolition permit procedure. According to the wording, the authority carried out the partial demolition permit procedure for the bridge girders of the bridge above Budapest, Üllői út–Könyves Kálmán körút (Népliget flyover). Obtaining the permit was a prerequisite for the examination of Budapest Közút, which means that this is not yet about the final demolition - that has not yet been decided - but it was necessary to start the condition assessment of the supporting structure.

The contract value of the works required for a detailed assessment of the condition of the Népligeti overpass is almost HUF 185 million net. In the related public procurement procedure, A-Híd Zrt. gave the cheapest offer, and it was awarded the contract. The name may sound familiar to a wider audience,  Lánchida is also renovated by this company. For this money, the company performs the following tasks:

  1. removal of the two selected longitudinal beams,
  2. as well as the partial demolition, which also covers the covering, the tape barrier, the edges and the dilatations,
  3. installs the necessary traffic technology (separates the outer lane on the side towards the city center with reinforced concrete deflectors, builds a temporary protective barrier inside the reinforced concrete deflectors),
  4. and creates temporary drainage.
    All of this serves the safety of traffic on and under the bridge and the protection of the exposed structures. The comprehensive technical examination of the samples delivered to the laboratory and the on-site examination of the condition of the structural elements exposed as a result of the demolition will be carried out by the specialists of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics on behalf of the company within the framework of the contract.

Source: VG.hu

Picture: György Kallus