Maria Skłodowska-Curie Bridge, Warsaw

Maria Skłodowska-Curie Bridge Most Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie
File:Most marii skłodowskiej wwa filary w wodzie.jpg Maria Skłodowska-Curie Bridge
Coordinates
Carries	Motor vehicles, Light rail, Bicycles, Pedestrians
Crosses	Vistula River
Locale	Bielany and Białołęka, Warsaw, Poland
Official name	Most Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie
Other name(s)	Most Północny ("Northern Bridge")
Named for	Maria Skłodowska-Curie
Characteristics
Design	Beam bridge
Material	Steel, Reinforced concrete
Trough construction	Steel
Pier construction	Steel, Reinforced concrete
Total length	795 metres (2,608 ft)
Width	46 metres (151 ft)
Height	9 metres (30 ft)
Longest span	160 metres (520 ft)
Number of spans	10 •45 metres (148 ft) •65 metres (213 ft) •110 metres (360 ft) •160 metres (520 ft) •110 metres (360 ft) •66.66 metres (218.7 ft) •66.67 metres (218.7 ft) •66.67 metres (218.7 ft) •60 metres (200 ft) •45 metres (148 ft)
History
Designer	Schüßler-Plan Ingenieurgesellschaft GmbH
Constructed by	•Pol-Aqua •Sando •Kromiss - Bis
Fabrication by	Vistal
Construction begin	20 May 2009
Construction end	March 2012
Construction cost	ca. 977 mln PLN
Opened	24 March 2012

The Maria Skłodowska-Curie Bridge (Polish: Most Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie) is a bridge over the Vistula River in Warsaw, Poland, linking the northern suburbs of Białołęka and Bielany. The structure actually consists of three parallel bridges, two for motor vehicles and one for light rail, bicycles and pedestrians. The first two parts were opened on March 24, 2012 making it the eighth road bridge in the capital of Poland, and it is now complete with the first tram line launched 21 January 2013.

The construction, started with a sod turning ceremony on 3 June 2009. The work is carried out by Pol-Aqua in cooperation with Spanish group Sando and Kromiss-Bis.

During the design and construction works the bridge was tentatively named the North Bridge due to its most northerly location. The President of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, announced that she would petition the Warsaw City Council to name the bridge after Pope John Paul II. However, on 1 December 2011 the bridge name was officially changed to Maria Skłodowska-Curie Bridge to honor the Polish double Nobel Prize winner, against the opinions of citizens and District Councils of both Bielany and Białołęka districts.

Location

The width of the river at the bridge is about 650 metres. On the west bank of the Vistula the bridge forms an extension of Zgrupowania AK "Kampinos" Street, and on the east Obrazkowa Street. This is the second river crossing in Warsaw, after Most Świętokrzyski, which is at ground level on both banks of the river. At Białołęka, the route proceeds on earthen embankments, as well as at Bielany, where the route joins the Wisłostrada, the principal north-south route through central Warsaw. Here, is the most complex intersection in Warsaw. At this point the interchange connects five multi-lane streets, three tramway lines and junctions for local roads.

External links

• Most Północny – North Bridge official webpage in Polish