The city of Stockholm wants to build the pedestrian and bicycle bridge between Slussen and Gamla stan by driving piles into the bedrock near – and partly diagonally under – the existing Söderströms bridge, where the subway runs.
The city believes that the method is safe and will not affect the subway bridge. But Region Stockholm, of which SL is a part, thinks the risks are too great. The Söderströms bridge rests on piles driven into gravel and stone as well as filling masses from the 1800s, and the piles do not reach the rock.
“There is a not inconsiderable risk that the Söderströms bridge settles and is damaged, with the risk of serious and long-term traffic disruptions,” writes Region Stockholm in a letter to the City of Stockholm.
– We currently have approximately 1,700 piles in this land, which have been drilled using the same methods without any problems, says Eva Rosman at Projekt Slussen, which is part of Stockholm’s city development office.
Costs a million a day
The dialogue regarding how the pedestrian and cycle bridge should be built has been going on for a long time, and the start of construction has been postponed. The latest start date was August 28, but it has been passed. And the fact that Region Stockholm and the City of Stockholm cannot agree is costing taxpayers money.
– We have a downtime cost of approximately one million kroner per day, says Eva Rosman.