The Marian Bridge, Czech Republic

A dramatic new bridge crosses the Elbe River at Usti nad Labem about 100 km north of Prague in the Czech Republic. The city, with a population of about 100,000, had spread out along both sides of the river, with only one road bridge connecting both banks. When an infrastructure development project was devised, a second road bridge was an obvious element. The project is the largest infrastructure upgrade in the Czech Republic since World War II without the financial support of the national government. Thus, the local authorities wanted a landmark structure to commemorate this initiative.