Charles Bridge the 1870s, the first regular public-transport (omnibus) line went over the bridge (officially called "Charles Bridge" after 1870) later replaced by a horse tram. The bridge towers underwent a thorough reconstruction between 1874 and 1883. On 2–5 September 1890, another disastrous flood struck Prague and severely damaged Charles Bridge. Thousands of rafts, logs and other floating materials that escaped from places upstream gradually formed a huge barrier leaning against the bridge. Three arches were torn down by the great pressure and two pillars collapsed from being undermined by the water, while others were partly damaged. With the fifth pillar, two
City Island Bridge supports, although the corrosion had since been fixed by that time. The bridge, which had been inspected in July 1999, had been deemed capable of carrying up to . The city leaders gave four options for the bridge's future: one entailed renovating the existing span, while the other three were for new spans. The new spans included a conventional causeway-style bridge with four piers; an arch bridge with large foundations on either side of the water; and a cable-stayed bridge with a tower either high. To replace the deteriorating bridge, the city originally intended to build the cable-stayed bridge, with