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Árpád Bridge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates | 47°32′15″N19°03′15″E / 47.5375°N 19.0542°E /47.5375; 19.0542 |
| Carries | 2×3 roads+tram |
| Crosses | Danube River |
| Locale | Budapest |
| Official name | Árpád híd |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Beam bridge |
| Total length | 981 meters (3,219 ft) |
| Width | 27.6 meters (91 m) |
| Longest span | 457.2 meters (1,500 ft) |
| History | |
| Opened | November 7, 1950 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 150,000 |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Árpád Bridge | |
Árpád Bridge orÁrpád híd (Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈaːrpaːdˈhiːd]) is a bridge inBudapest,Hungary, connecting northernBuda (Óbuda) andPest across theDanube.
Until the inauguration ofMegyeri Bridge in 2008, it was the longest bridge in Hungary, spanning about 2 km (1.24 mi) with the sections leading up to the bridge, and 928 m (0.58 mi) without them. It is 35.3 m (116 ft) wide with pedestrian and bicycle paths and a tramline.
At its Óbuda end is Flórián tér, Szentlélek tér (near the Main Square ofÓbuda, theVasarely andKassák Museums).
Margaret Island is connected toÁrpád Bridge through an embranchment approximately in the middle of the bridge, and crosses the Southern tip ofÓbuda Island as well, although there is no road, pedestrian or any other connection whatsoever between the two. (SeeSziget Festival)
At the Pest end, the adjoiningLine 3 (North-South)metro station was called "Árpád híd" until 31 January 2020.
In earlier times there was a bridge in the same area established by the Romans, it was connecting a fort and the old Roman settlement of Aquincum. There was a plan at the beginning of the 19th century, to create a new bridge named Árpád, however the tender was announced only in 1929.[1]
Construction began in 1939 by the plans of János Kossalka. It was planned to be named "Árpád Bridge" afterGrand Prince Árpád,[2] the secondGrand Prince of the Magyars.
Due toWorld War II, the bridge was finished only after the war in 1950. Because of the communist regime then ruling Hungary, the bridge was opened asStalin Bridge (Hungarian:Sztálin híd).[2] The final construction works were directed by Károly Széchy and Pál Sávoly.
Although the pillars were built in their current dimensions, the original bridge contained only a 2x1 lane road, railroad tracks (for trams, but until the reconstruction of theNorthern Rail Bridge the tracks were also used by cargo trains as well) with pedestrian paths. This bridge was 13 m (42.65 ft) wide, 11 meters (36 ft) of this was the road and the tracks, and an additional 1 m (3.28 ft) wide pedestrian path were on each sides. Today the tram tracks are where the original bridge was situated.
The name was changed back to Árpád Bridge in 1958.
Between 1980 and 1984, by extensive reconstruction and expansion works, two more lanes were added for cars, the pedestrian pathways were widened, the tram track was modernized and overpasses were built for the intersections at both Eastern (Pest) and Western (Buda/Óbuda) ends of Árpád Bridge.
This was planned and executed in connection with the expansion of the adjacentRóbert Károly körút (further sections also calledHungária körút andKönyves Kálmán körút as well) to 2×3 lanes and double tramway tracks . The project was called Hungária körgyűrű (English:Hungária Beltway), although the last third of the belt (Könyves Kálmán körút) was finished only around the millennium, years after the completion ofLágymányosi Bridge at the other end of the planned beltway.
47°32′16″N19°03′12″E / 47.53778°N 19.05333°E /47.53778; 19.05333
