The Prague Post
September 7th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions

Home » Archives » Transport

Slow going

Packed national roadways get extensive five-year makeover

By Brooke Edge
For The Prague Post
March 5th, 2008 issue

JAN PŘEROVSKÝ/THE PRAGUE POST
Tunneling through: Construction on the expansive 21 billion Kč Blanka tunnel, the longest in the country, continues near Letná. The project is set to be completed by 2010 and to help ease the city's traffic congestion.
enlarge
JAN PŘEROVSKÝ/THE PRAGUE POST
enlarge
JAN PŘEROVSKÝ/THE PRAGUE POST
enlarge
Five-year plan


What: 313 kilometers worth of new roadways being laid throughout the countryside
Time frame: 2006-10
Who's in charge: Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic
Major road projects: Extensions of the D1 highway into Ostrava, the R6 expressway into Karlovy Vary and the D47 highway heading to Poland
Tunnel work: Blanka tunnel project, near Letná Park, to be completed in 2010 for an estimated 21 billion Kč

Want to hop down to Vienna for a few days? Better take the train. It may be your quickest and less aggravating option as the long-planned motorway upgrade between the Czech Republic and the Austrian capital won’t be finished until sometime in 2010 — at the earliest.
And a relaxing weekend trip to the Czech countryside probably won’t seem that relaxing after spending hours fighting your way through hordes of traffic along the D1 highway. Unfortunately, that much-traveled route isn’t gong to see much relief any time soon. Transport officials say an alternate cross-country highway isn’t likely to be ready for at least a few more years.
Big changes are in store for the Czech roadway system, but, as many drivers can attest, it’s still, for the most part, slow going.   
The country is in the midst of a massive road construction era that the Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic (ŘSD ČR) calls the “most dynamic in history,” which started in 2006 and is scheduled to wrap up in 2010.
During this five-year period, 313 kilometers (195 miles) worth of new highways are being worked on — 184 of which will be layed down between now and 2010, including the much-needed extensions of the D1 into Ostrava, the R6 expressway into Karlovy Vary and the D47 highway section heading to the Polish border.
Work on the ring road around Prague is expected to be “moved forward significantly,” especially the southern section of the loop, easing the inner-city traffic traveling between Plzeň and Brno.   
All this work “is something that has not been here since the very start of the highway construction in 1967,” marvels Alfred Brunclík, director of ŘSD ČR.
Meanwhile, what’s planned for this year is a mixed bag for drivers, as some work nears completion while other sections along the country’s extensive road and highway system face roadblocks.
Bright spots include the recent completion of the first section of the D47, which connects Ostrava and Bohumín. Another section of this thoroughfare is set to open in April, and more stretches will become gradually available as it becomes finally connected with Poland’s A1 highway in 2010.
Closer to Prague, the final phase of the D8 highway connecting Prague to the German border began in early November. This 16-kilometer span will open in stages between now and 2010.
According to transport officials, the signicant construction work in 2008 includes the southern section of the loop around Prague, the D11 extension into Hradec Králové, the R6 near Karlovy Vary, the D1 through Moravia and one section of the D3, which will connect Prague to České Budějovice.
Work planned for the above mentioned roads may create problems for drivers, as they are some of the most frequented in the network, notes Martina Vápeníková, spokeswoman for ŘSD ČR.
“The current main road [in and out of the capital] is one of the busiest parts, and the journey from Prague south can take longer than expected due to traffic jams, which sometimes develop there,” she adds.
Right now, cars have to drive through the city of Tábor rather than zipping along on open highways, Vápeníková explains. “Not only drivers but also residents of Tábor want to accelerate the speed of construction.”
Looks like they will have to be a little patient, though.  
The D3 highway is scheduled to be opened in stages between now and 2014. The work has been held up in the Posázaví area, according to Vápeníková, “because in this area we face a lot of protests over the location of the road.”  
In Prague, the award for the most visible road improvement work goes to the Blanka tunnel project, near Letná Park. When it is finished in 2010, the complex will consist of three tunnels — Brusnice, Dejvice and Královská obora — connecting the Malovanka junction in Prague–Břevnov and Pelc-Tyrolka in Prague–Troja as part of the northwestern inner-city ring. The 21 billion Kč ($1.3 billion) Blanka complex will reportedly be the longest tunnel in the Czech Republic, as well as the longest city tunnel in Europe.
On Blanka tunnel’s official Web site, Tunelblanka.cz, Prague Mayor Pavel Bém writes that the expensive project is meant to relieve busy roads in the northern area of the city.
“If you want to regulate transport, and we don’t just mean individual transport but also public and other types, it is essential to finish the construction of the network of the main city roads,” the mayor writes. “That should also improve the situation of Prague public transport and also road safety and quality.”
Plans beyond 2010 are quickly shaping up. They include extension of the D3 highway south to Austria and the northern section of Prague’s main outer loop.
That may sound like a lot of work, but ŘSD ČR’s Brunclík remains confident that things will stay on schedule — at least for now.  
— Hela Balínová contributed to this report.  

Brooke Edge can be reached at specialsection@praguepost.com


Other articles in Transport (5/03/2008):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.