The Great Wall of Baku – residents of Azerbaijani capital outraged by 10-meter pedestrian bridge

The construction of a new pedestrian bridge in Baku has outraged locals: most find the idea absurd and very inconvenient. 

This huge intricate design has already been dubbed the “Great Wall of Baku.” Officials say they are only looking out for pedestrian safety. 

• Isn’t there too much marble in Baku?

• The children’s railway turned erotic theatre turned swamp

10 meters above the road

The new pedestrian bridge will rise above the road by almost 10 meters – twice as high as usual, says 1news. 

Its length will be 76 meters and will have a width of about four meters. The bridge will connect the metro station and the park.

There is already a zebra on this stretch of road, but officials believe this is not enough for safety.

“Pedestrians are constantly being hit here,” Anar Najafli, representative of the Azerbaijan Highways State Agency, explains.

He urges pedestrians not to be afraid of the size of the bridge and promises that two automatic ramps and elevators will be installed in the passage. 

Why make things more difficult?

Bakuvians do not believe the officials’ assurances and call the new bridge a freak and criticize it in all respects:

“Where will the ramps be built there? And if they build it, for how many days will they work?”

“Neither beauty nor convenience! The caterpillar is a freak!”

“This passage is a symbol of squandering and corruption”

Exacerbation of a sore subject

Underground and elevated pedestrian crossings are a “sore subject” for Bakuvians. Many believe that they do not facilitate, but, on the contrary, complicate the lives of locals. 

For example, in most of these crossings and bridges one of the escalators does not work (if they exist at all).

In addition, sometimes these crossings are installed in narrow streets with little traffic, and it is not clear why they are needed.