Cardinal Macharski Bridge in Kraków, Road bridge in Nowa Huta district, Kraków, Poland.
The Cardinal Macharski Bridge consists of two separate reinforced-concrete bridges over the Vistula, 706 m and 695.5 m long, carrying the S7 expressway. Each direction has three lanes, and the suspended sections hang from cables attached to four pylons, each 63 m tall, with a central span of 200 m.
The contract with contractor Strabag was signed in July 2014, and the bridge opened to traffic on 28 June 2017. Construction used about 7,400 tonnes of reinforcing steel and some 39,000 tonnes of concrete. On 30 August 2017 the Kraków City Council unanimously named it after Cardinal Franciszek Macharski. From 2017 to 2024 it was the longest bridge in the Małopolska voivodeship.
The bridge's name honours Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, who was Archbishop of Kraków from 1978 to 2005, succeeding Karol Wojtyła after his election as Pope John Paul II. The Kraków City Council voted unanimously to grant the name on 30 August 2017, two months after the bridge opened. Macharski died in 2016.
The bridge is designed for car and truck traffic and serves as part of the city's eastern bypass route. Best crossing times are outside peak hours when traffic flows more smoothly.
The bridge held the title of the longest bridge in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship from 2017 until 2024, when a road crossing near Tarnów measuring 815 m took first place. Its construction used about 7,400 tonnes of reinforcing steel and some 39,000 tonnes of concrete.
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