One of the principal constructions of Prague road system is Nusle Bridge. Dream of several generations of engineers and designers about bridging of Nusle valley was fulfilled in 1973. Author of the idea was subsequent academician, outstanding expert in concrete constructions and renowned structural engineer dr. ing. Stanislav Bechyně. As early as in 1919 he elaborated the appropriate design, however there was not found enough understanding for the construction. In following years there had been announced several ideological architectural competitions, however realization did not occur. Discussion was definitely interrupted by World War II.
After its ending the idea of construction revived. Next architectural designs arose, it was pondered about the most suitable opening of the bridge at New Town side and connection to the existing roads. In 1959-1961 the final two-stage competition proceeded, in which design by project engineers Vojtěch Michálek, Stanislav Hubička and Svatopluk Kobr won, and this was also realized. The bridge with reinforced-concrete frame bridge structure has four pillars, which support tube in the trapezoid shape. Shell construction proceeded in 1965-1969. The bridge started to be used for car and pedestrian traffic on 22nd February 1973 and then it was called from Klement Gottwald, the first communist president of the Czechoslovak Republic. In 1974 underground trains of C route started to run in the tube.
The bridge structure, key part of so-called north-south trunk road has length of 485 m, and width of 26, 5 m. The road has width of 21 m and it has six lanes. On both sides there are roads for pedestrians. The bridge has two levels and underground trains are running in its lower level. As weight of the wagon sets is higher than it was supposed earlier, a steel spread grillage had to be inserted into the bridge tube in the beginning. The bridge arches over the Nusle valley at the height of 43 m. The strange thing is that this giant among Prague bridges arches over the small bed of Botič creek.
