A 1.19km-long bridge that will exclusively serve pedestrians, cyclists and trams has been opened in Helsinki.
On Saturday 18 April, over 50,000 people attended the official opening weekend of the city’s new Kruunuvuorensilta Bridge, the longest and tallest bridge in Finland. It is also notable on a global scale as it is exceptionally long for a bridge that will exclude all car traffic.
Connecting Kruunuvuorenranta in Helsinki’s eastern island suburbs with the city centre, the bridge forms part of a wider urban development initiative called the Crown Bridges Light Rail project, which includes three bridges and a new tramline connecting the city centre to Laajasalo island.
The bridge was designed by London-based architectural practice Knight Architects and structural engineers WSP Finland, following a design competition in 2013. The design team said of their winning design that they wanted to “reference the historic crown ownership of the bay, establishing a bold and contemporary civic landmark...