Reconstruction of the Charles Bridge
The long-planned reconstruction of Charles Bridge began on 20 August this year. The reconstruction is divided into two stages. The first stage will be completed in June 2010 and the second will last for up to 10 years. Throughout the reconstruction, Charles Bridge will be accessible to experts and to the public that visits Prague to acquaint themselves with the cultural property. People will be able to watch the reconstruction.
The costs of the first part of the reconstruction are about 222 million CZK. Prague uses its budget to pay most of these expenses, but some are paid by contributions of the general public and sponsors.
Reconstruction begins from the Lesser Town Tower and the sewerage system is going to be rebuilt. The roadway will follow afterwards. The company “Stavby mostu Praha” (Bridgesworks Prague) is going to use water crafts on which for example a crane will be grounded. The Charles Bridge should mainly get new impregnation, because current impregnation does not caulk and because its masonry leaks and decomposes.
The second stage follows the first one and constructors will rebuild the stone surface of the bridge. Every blockstone will be registered and experts will decide if they put it back, clean it or replace it with a new one.
Since beginning of the reconstruction a part of the original masonry, that could date back to the 14th century, has been discovered. The expert commission decided to preserve the masonry and the builders thus gave way to archaeologists.