Dresden City Council approves design for new Carolabrücke

The Dresden City Council has approved a design for the replacement of the Carolabrücke, following the bridge's collapse on September 11, 2024. The council majority selected a proposal submitted by a consortium consisting of FHECOR Deutschland and TSSB Planungsgesellschaft.

The decision followed intense debate regarding costs and functionality. Some political factions, including the SPD and the Greens, advocated for reducing the bridge's scale to save costs, suggesting a two-lane design rather than a four-lane expansion due to projected decreases in car traffic. Other groups, such as the PVP-Kooperation, proposed even more limited structures focused on trams, cyclists, and pedestrians to avoid the estimated 170 million euro investment.

Prior to the vote, legal warnings were raised regarding the selection process. Legal counsel for the city cautioned against selecting a design with high risks and attempting to redesign it later, noting that such actions could lead to legal challenges from unsuccessful bidders under German competition law (GWB).