Controversial city bridge budget nearly doubles to €40m

A pedestrian and cycle bridge to be built over Neudorf in the capital of Luxembourg will cost €40.1 million instead of the €24.1 million previously planned for it, due to delays and changes to the project.

First put to the city council in 2008, the project to build a bridge connecting the Cents and Weimershof/Kirchberg neighbourhoods, over Neudorf, has proven controversial and long.  

The cost was projected to be €18 million in 2008, François Benoy, councillor for the Greens told the Luxembourg Times. The cost was estimated at €24.1 million the last time the city council discussed the bridge. On Monday, members gave the greenlight to a budget of €40.1 million.

“When you block important infrastructure, it will always get more expensive,” Benoy said.

“When you want to take action against climate change, when you want to do important infrastructure for a better quality of life, you have to do this investment and not wait and wait,” he continued. 

Claude Radoux, a councillor from the DP party which holds the majority of seats on the council, said that the project had been on the table for “at least 15 years” and that “of course I and we all would have preferred the price tag of €24 million which we voted on in 2022”.

However, cost increases “due to inflation and a few extras” had led to the surge in the price tag, Radoux added.

Benoy said his party supported the bridge project in 2008 and still does today, despite its high price. The design and location of the proposed bridge have both changed over the years, he also noted.

The bridge’s design will make it an attraction like some of the city’s other famous bridges, or like the Pfaffenthal lift, said Benoy. It also will be a solid investment as it connects the Kirchberg district to the Cents railway station, he said.

Ironically, the lift and the Cents-Kirchberg bridge were approved during the same council meeting in 2008, but the financial crisis put one of the two projects on ice, Benoy said.

Political opposition has been spearheaded by the ADR, with the LSAP also questioning the high price. There has also been opposition from a local residents’ group that calls the bridge a prestige project while questioning its cost-benefit balance. 

The residents have not applied for a court injunction against construction, but could consider doing so once the diggers move it, news site Tageblatt said.

“People have the right to be against the project and they also have the right to go to court. But to be honest, this project has now been an ongoing discussion for 20 years. So it’s not a new project. And I am sure that this project will be very positive for the neighbourhood, especially also for Neudorf, because it connects them to Kirchberg,” Benoy said.

While the bridge is expected to be constructed by 2028 under current plans, Radoux said, “what we cannot foresee [is] if there will be legal injunctions which can slow the process down”.

The budget for the project falls under the responsibility of the capital’s administration, and will not be discussed in parliament. 

(This article was updated at 17:30 on 22 October 2024 with comments from DP councillor Claude Radoux)