Four planning offices entrusted with design for new Carola Bridge

The city of Dresden wants to commission four planning offices from Berlin, Dresden, Frankfurt am Main and Munich to design a new Carola Bridge. Part of the old bridge collapsed in September 2024. As a result, the entire structure had to be demolished. However, the contract can only be finally awarded after a statutory waiting period until mid-December, the city administration announced. From then on, the planning offices could work on their designs until mid-May 2026.

Criteria: Robust, durable and low maintenance

The city council agreed on key points in June. Accordingly, the new Carola Bridge should be functional and at the same time blend harmoniously into the historic cityscape. In addition, materials typical of Dresden architecture such as sandstone or granite are to be used. The new bridge should also take into account important visual axes and visual relationships between the banks of the Elbe and the old town. Nature and water protection also play a role. The bridge should have a maximum of one pillar in the Elbe. Technical requirements are: Robustness, durability and low maintenance requirements.

Public and international expert participation planned

The award of the contract will conclude the award procedure. The designs will then be presented to a monitoring committee consisting of the city council, chambers and associations. There are also plans to involve the public and internationally recognized experts. The city council will decide which design will ultimately be planned and implemented in autumn 2026. The new bridge is due to be completed in 2031.

Dresden's Carola Bridge has three spans. On the night of September 11, 2024, the bridge span for the streetcar and pedestrians collapsed unexpectedly. No people were injured. However, the other parts of the bridge were also so badly damaged that it will have to be completely demolished. The cause of the collapse is believed to be corrosion, which led to the failure of tendons.