The Oberburgermeister of Karlsruhe has been in Nottingham this week to officially
name the new bridge which will connect the current Nottingham Express Transit system with the phase two extensions across the railway station. The bridge will be named the “Karlsruhe Friendship Bridge” to mark Nottingham’s friendship with the German town which helped shape NET’s success – even though the bridge hasn’t actually been built yet and won’t be completed until the end of 2013!
Oberburgermeister Herr Heinz Fenrich – the executive Mayor of Karlsruhe – will unveil an information panel naming the bridge and showing illustrations of how the bridge will look when completed. This panel will also pay tribute to the support and advice officials in Karlsruhe provided to Nottingham during the development of Nottingham’s tram network based on their own experiences of operating an award-winning tram network.
Cllr Alan Clark, Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio holder for International and European links, commented: “The links between Nottingham and Karlsruhe span 43 years, during which time we have built so many strong relationships and friendships. This bridge has been named the Karlsruhe Friendship Bridge to reflect these bonds between our two cities. It acknowledges the advice of our counterparts in Karlsruhe, based on their
experiences of building and operating their own extensive and award-winning tram network. The level of support they gave us during the development and construction of Nottingham’s tram was superb and helped us to find solutions to many of the questions and problems we encountered during the course of Line One to Hucknall and Phoenix Park. Their assistance throughout was invaluable and the subsequent success of Nottingham’s tram has enabled us to move forward with these two new tram lines to Clifton and Chilwell. We are delighted that Herr Fenrich is here to unveil this panel which names the Karlsruhe Friendship Bridge and explains the work that has already started to make the bridge and the tram links a reality.”
Work on the bridge was started last month and it is planned that it will be completed by the end of 2013. When completed the bridge will cross Station Street, Nottingham Railway Station and Queen’s Road linking the current NET system with the phase two lines currently under construction to Clifton and Chilwell.