Footpath and cycle path

A new “bridge” will be built on the banks of the Danube by 2027

This is what the pedestrian/cyclist ramp looks like, which runs from the Nibelungen Bridge to the Lentos entrance.(Bild: tragwerkstatt Ziviltechniker GmbH)

For decades, there has been a desire for a crossing for cyclists and pedestrians - this is now being built, but only parallel to the Danube. By mid-2027, another bridge will be docked onto the Nibelungen Bridge - a ramp for pedestrians and cyclists. Cost for Linz: around one million euros.

In October 2020, the then FP city deputy and traffic officer Markus Hein touted the spindle ramps - so-called "spiral towers" - as the ultimate solution for cycling on the Nibelungen Bridge. He wanted to realize these by the time the Westring Bridge was approved.

It has been known since last year at the latest that the spiral towers will never be built, as in November 2023 - as reported - the city senate unanimously approved the preliminary planning for a new pedestrian and cycle ramp between the bridgehead and the access road to Lentos. This preliminary planning now appears to have been completed, as VP city deputy Martin Hajart announced: "From October 28, through traffic will no longer flow across the main square. And I am preparing the next step: the better connection of the main square and the Nibelungen Bridge to the Donaulände."

Crosswalk will be history
Directly "docked" to the Nibelungen Bridge, a 3.76-metre-wide ramp - effectively a new bridge running parallel to the Danube - is to be built in future. The crosswalk at the level of the 90-degree bend will then be history after its construction, as VP city deputy Martin Hajart explains: "Thanks to the new ramp, the crosswalk, which would no longer be approved in this day and age without traffic lights, is no longer necessary. Removing it will make traffic flow more smoothly there."

The crosswalk at the 90-degree bend will be removed as soon as the ramp is completed.(Bild: tragwerkstatt Ziviltechniker GmbH)

Ramp will ultimately cost Linz one million euros
It is expected to cost around three million euros to implement, although the city will probably only have to cover a third of the costs itself in the end. "I have already received the promise of financial support from the state from Transport Minister Günther Steinkellner, who also very much welcomes the project. We are also getting another part from the federal government's climate action funding." However, it will still take some time to implement the project; Hajart expects it to be completed by mid-2027.

The new ramp will be a milestone for bikers and pedestrians - and it will not only provide an important boost for trade in the city center, but also a cool view of the Danube.

Martin Hajart, Linzer VP-Stadtvize und Mobilitätsreferent

AEC ramp to be widened
Things are also on track on the other side of the Danube. Here, the existing AEC ramp is simply being widened and made permeable for safety reasons with an open steel bar railing.