The bridges of Budapest, Hungary, crossing the River Danube from north to south are as follows:
Table of the most famous Bridges of Budapest
This table excludes rail bridges, bridges to islands and bridges that are partially outside of Budapest. The whole list of bridges of Budapest can be found below this table. The bridges are listed from north to south.
Megyeri Bridge
It is a cable-stayed bridge serving as part of the M0 motorway that encircles the city. Preparations for its building began on January 6, 2006. The bridge was completed on September 30, 2008.
The final structure spawns over two branches of the Danube with Szentendre Island in the middle where for environmental protection there is no exit. The eastern part of the bridge is cable stayed and, as it is on the main branch, that part allows safe passage for international river traffic, for all vessels that are currently authorized to pass through Budapest because of their manageability.
There are 4 lanes and 2 hard shoulders on the bridge, but they are wide enough to be expanded to 6 lanes and 2 hard shoulders should the ring road in the area be widened. The cable-stayed part of the bridge is 590 m long, with a 300 m span.
Újpest Rail Bridge (Újpesti vasúti híd)
Length: 674.40 m
It was first opened in 1913. It was exploded by the retreating German army in 1945. A new, temporary steel structure was built on the bases, from military materials which enabled rapid construction. The trains could use it with max. 15 km/h. It was finally demolished in 2008, when the bases were completely renovated and a new steel structure was placed onto them. This technically enables 160 km/h transit speeds, but for safety concerns related to the curves of the railway in the city, the maximum allowed transit speed is 80 km/h.
K Bridge
The bridge connects Buda (the western half of the city) with Óbudai Island.
The bridge was built from military materials which enabled rapid construction. It was opened to public in 1955. It provided railway track connection to the ship factory that operated on the island. After the factory closed during the transition to capitalism, the rail tracks connecting the factory to the mainland were disassembled. Only that rail track section which was on the bridge remained.
Currently the bridge serves pedestrian traffic and road traffic, but only provides one lane. Traffic light decides in which direction can the cars move at a time.
Shipyard Bridge (Hajógyári híd)
In the beginning only a port made transit possible from Óbudai Island to the western bank of the Danube.
In 1858 a wooden bridge was opened. It could be slid sideways to allow ships pass by. In 1884 it was replaced by a steel bridge, the middle of which could be lifted to allow ships pass.
Finally, in 1968 a reinforced concrete bridge was opened in its place. This bridge still serves the traffic today. It has two lanes allowing cars to transit.
Árpád Bridge
Árpád Bridge or Árpád híd connects Buda and Pest across the Danube. It is the northernmost public bridge of the capital and the longest bridge in Hungary, spanning about 2 km with the sections leading up to the bridge, and 928 m without them. It is 35.3 m wide.
Margaret Bridge
Margaret Bridge is the second northernmost and second oldest public bridge in Budapest. It was planned by the French engineer Ernest Goüin and built between 1872 and 1876. Margaret Bridge became the second permanent bridge in Budapest after the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. This bridge leads across to Margaret Island, its two parts enclosing 150 degrees with each other at the embranchment towards the island. The reason for this unusual geometry lies in the fact the small extension to connect to Margaret Island was hastily inserted into the original design, but not built until two decades later due to lack of funds. It is 637.5 m in length and 25 m in width.