The D1 motorway renovation will be completed in 202021/11/2016|Press releasesThe most burdened Czech motorway will see up to nine narrowed sections in 2017 due to ongoing renovation works between Prague and Brno. To ensure that drivers can enjoy the new D1 motorway within four years, the pace of repairs must be accelerated, says Dan Ťok, minister of transportation. Six modernised sections out of 21 have been opened. The rest await renovation. Works are currently under way in four locations: near Psáře, Jihlava, Měřín and Velká Bíteš. The sections will be completed in the second half of 2017. A tender has been announced for five more sections Mirošovice, Ostředek, Hořice, Humpolec and Velké Meziříčí. This means there will be up to nine roadworks sites between Prague and Brno simultaneously. According to transportation minister Ťok, "We are well aware of the fact that drivers don't like roadworks and that they are unpopular, but with the renovation efforts we are just fixing what has been neglected for years. The motorway is already past its service life and drivers’ safety is at risk. We will not behave like populists and we are not postponing the repairs any further. It hurts, but must be done. And the sooner the works are complete, the better." Thanks to the recent moderate winters, there was a bit more time than usual for the roadworks. The minister says that stopping the works at a time when they could still go on would be a pity. On the other hand, snow and compulsory winter maintenance can be challenging for the repairs. "The builders work 24/7 wherever possible, so they utilise their time to the highest possible degree,” says the minister of transportation. “Works are done in two shifts on most sections and this pattern will continue. All stakeholders want to see the motorway renovation completed by 2020, so that people can finally enjoy a high level of driving convenience. Therefore, we must speed up the pace of repairs." Next year, renovation works will start in late March or early April once the weather allows. Cars will pass the roadworks sites in two narrow lanes in each direction, as has been the practice so far. The traffic flow will be reduced to one lane only where traffic signs need to be adjusted. The road builders say, however, that this will take only a couple of dozen hours. The D1 motorway connects Prague, Brno and Ostrava and is the most heavily used road in the whole motorway network. Construction on it began all the way back in 1967. Its condition has been deteriorating – repairs should have been carried out ten years ago. So, what is the traffic intensity over 24 hours? Almost 100,000 vehicles along Prague, 70,000 vehicles along Brno and around 35,000 vehicles in the Vysočina highlands. The D1 motorway was extended between 1996 and 1999 to six lanes between Prague and Mirošovice. Why the D1 renovation? The motorway sections are being widened from 26.5 to 28 metres. The paved roadside (shoulder) will be widened by 0.75 m on each side, which will improve safety any time a vehicle needs to use the lane in an emergency. Cars will go past the roadworks sites in the so-called 2+2 mode, i.e. two lanes in each direction for the time during which one motorway side is closed. The 2+2 mode is currently not possible, which leads to congestion during closures or in the case of accidents due to the reduction of two lanes into one (the 2+1 mode). The renovations include: repair of the road structure adjustment of exit lanes, connecting lanes and passages through the middle dividing strip extension of motorway bridges and overhead crossings repair of the drainage system, addition of safety elements replacement of crash barriers along the whole section repair and modernisation of existing emergency call system installation of new telematic equipment replacement of all cabling in the middle dividing strip, installation of new noise protection elements You can find more information on the D1 motorway renovation at www.novaD1.cz.