Helsinki abandons cycling bridge plan over prime minister’s security concerns

Helsinki is dropping plans for a cycling bridge near the prime minister’s official residence after the Government Office raised security concerns, Yle reports. The city had advanced the project for nearly three years after believing it had addressed the concerns.

The proposed Humallahti bridge, planned for about a decade, would have formed part of a cycling route beside Kesäranta, where the prime minister lives and works. Helsinki’s Urban Environment Division said this week that it would no longer pursue the plan.

The Government Office told Yle that it presented the same security concerns to the city at least twice in early 2024. The office’s negative assessment is classified, and its specific concerns have not been made public.

Helsinki’s urban environment division director, Ville Lehmuskoski, said the city took the concerns seriously and worked to address them. He said there had been no absolute instructions, and that the city believed the changes it made would be sufficient. He declined to detail those changes, saying they could reveal information that should not fall into the hands of malicious actors.

The Government Office said the security assessment had been affected by changes in the threat environment and technological developments. Russia’s war in Ukraine has changed the security situation in Finland and Europe, and threats have become harder to predict, it said.

Helsinki spent an estimated 250,000 euros on the project planning alone, with additional costs incurred during the zoning phase. The city’s head of transport and street planning, Reetta Putkonen, said the work had provided information that could be used to advance an alternative route along Paciuksenkatu.

The bridge proposal had also drawn strong opposition from some Helsinki residents, who raised concerns about a natural rocky outcrop and the seascape. The city changed its cycling-route proposal following public feedback.