Closed temporary bridges in Tapiola to be dismantled and replaced by a wooden bridge and street-level route

The City of Espoo, together with local construction sites and scaffolding suppliers operating in the area, has created solutions to improve temporary pedestrian routes between Merituulentie and Itätuulenkuja. 

The western scaffolding bridge, which leads from Merituulentori to the Omnia building on the southern side of Itätuulenkuja, will be dismantled in July. The bridge would have been dismantled anyway later this summer to make way for a new construction project next to Merituulentori. 

The permanent Sammonsilta route between Merituulentori and the northern edge of Itätuulenkuja will be completed in August. A new temporary wooden bridge across Itätuulenkuja will be built as an extension of Sammonsilta. It should be available for use at the end of August. The city’s aim is also to open the route from the bridge to Itätuulenpiha and Rossinmäenpolku at the same time. 

The eastern scaffolding bridge, which has led from Tuulikinsilta to Itätuulenkuja and Helmakuja, will be dismantled in July. As a replacement route, stairs will be built from the southern end of Tuulikinsilta to the street level, providing a route around the construction site to Itätuulenkuja. This route will be completed at the beginning of August. 

The planning of a more permanent Satakielenpolku route will also start at the same time. This includes replacing the above-mentioned stairs with a more accessible ramp. The street-level route will be extended all the way to the intersection of Tapiolantie and Itätuulenkuja.  

The construction of the reinforced concrete structure in the southern part of Tuulikinsilta is underway, providing a route to the deck level on Helmakuja in January 2024. The southern part of Tuulikinsilta will be fully completed during the spring of 2024. 

The city aims to speed up the construction of the final deck structure on Itätuulenkuja 

The scaffolding routes along the southern edge of Itätuulenkuja have remained available where needed to access the residential buildings and commercial premises, but passing through the area has been prohibited since May. The scaffolds have been improved based on the observations made during a third-party inspection. The roof will be dismantled in July due to problems related to the size of the roof structure. 

Another temporary wooden bridge has been planned for the eastern part of Itätuulenkuja, but a final decision has not yet been made and negotiations concerning the matter continue. 

The permanent Itätuulenkuja deck structure made of reinforced concrete can be built once the building projects in the middle of Itätuulenkuja have progressed far enough. The city’s aim is to get the deck construction work started as soon as possible. 

Current temporary routes remain unchanged in July 

The temporary pedestrian routes in the area will remain unchanged in July. 

At street level on Itätuulenkuja, you can walk all the way from Tapiolantie to Etelätuulentie, for example if you are pushing a pram or a bicycle. From Itätuulenkuja, you can access Helmakuja, where you can take the elevator to the metro, bus terminal and Ainoa shopping centre. You can also access the Tuulimäki sports facility from Itätuulenkuja. In front of the sports facility, there are stairs leading to Revontulenpolku. Accessible routes run via Leimuniitty or alternatively via the Tykkitie underpass. 

Temporary bridges have been used to ensure that the routes available during construction work are as accessible and user-friendly as possible. 

The city closed all temporary bridges in the area due to the accident on 11 May.