Work will continue on the Outer Urban Ringroad. Photo credit: Brno City Municipality.
Brno, July 28 (BD) – Drivers in Brno and the surrounding area should expect further restrictions in August. Several construction projects have already started, while in other places the construction will begin next week. In the D1 section between the Brno-centrum (exit 194) and Brno-jih (exit 196) interchanges, traffic will be restricted from the beginning of August due to the widening of the highway. Some other constructions affecting traffic in Brno will also start this year.
“The traffic situation in Brno is not easy and unfortunately we already know that many complications still await us,” said the Mayor of Brno, Markéta Vaňková. “It is very difficult to coordinate everything as we would like with the South Moravian region and the Directorate of Roads and Highways, and some projects of private entities interfere with the operation.”
She added that the process was also often complicated by the process of selecting a contractor, which often adds delays and moves the entire project to a completely different timeline. “It also affects us if one of the entities receives more financial support than they expected and therefore embarks on more projects in one year,” she said. “I am therefore asking road users to continue to be patient.”
Restrictions await drivers from 1 August on the D1 highway in the section between exits 194 and 196. Petr Kratochvíl, Brno city councillor for transport, said the capacity of this road is almost exhausted, and the four-lane highway must therefore be expanded to six lanes. “Part of the extension of D1 is also the reconstruction of level crossings,” he added. “Other sections, rebuilding of intersections and, in advance, repairs and reconstruction of bridges throughout the city are also being prepared.”
The project will be divided into several stages. In the first, the motorway will be narrowed, but two lanes in each direction will still be maintained. The on-ramps to the highway in the direction of Ostrava from Vídeňská and in the direction of Prague from Hněvkovského will be closed. The expansion should be completed in 2025, according to David Fiala, director of the Brno division of the Directorate of Roads and Highways.
Some constructions are long-term and will continue through this year into next year. Examples are the Outer Urban Ringroad (VMO) from Tomkovo náměstí – Rokytova, Bauerova and Žabovřeská, which will be closed from 1 to 22 August from the exit from the Pisarecký tunnel to Bráfovo. The Hlinky tunnel in the direction to the centre will also be impassable, and traffic will be diverted via the Hlinky–Pisárecká intersection. Current restrictions on individual VMO sections can be found at kopemezabrno.cz.
The construction of anti-flood measures in the Poříčí area is also continuing; the current restrictions apply until 31 August, after which other phases will follow. The shifting of repair work on the Otakar Ševčík bridge to the second half of the bridge is expected in the spring of next year.
A number of construction works began at the beginning of the summer, including the extension of the tram line at Merhautova (the current stage will last until 10 September, the entire reconstruction until the end of 2024), the repair of the road at Sportovní (until 7 August), work on the expansion joints of the bridges at Hradecky (until 31 August), and surface repairs at the Štursova stop (until 15 October).
The reconstruction of the sewerage and water supply in Bohunická and the closure of the direction of travel to Bystrc on the Stará dálnica in the Veselka–Žebětínská section will also be completed by the end of August. Workers will be repairing the surfaces on Videňská until 13 August.
From 5-31 August, the Directorate of Roads and Highways will repair surfaces on Opuštěná and Zvonařka. Left turns will be prohibited from both streets in both directions, traffic will be maintained in 1+1 mode (one lane in each direction). Trnitá will be closed completely from 19-31 August. In addition, due to the concurrence with the work on Trnitá, from 19-24 August it will not be possible to enter or leave Vaňkovka on this side.
In connection with the extension of the water main, drivers can use Bystrcká only in the direction of the centre from 2-3 September. In the second half of the year, the exit from Hradecka to Hapalova in the direction to the centre will be completely closed. The Directorate of Roads and Highways will rehabilitate the retaining wall here. Continuous surface repair awaits Žebětínská in September, Mikulčická from 1 September to 31 October, and Chironova from 11 September to 11 October. In the period 1 October 2023 – 30 November 2024, Gajdošova will operate in the 1+1 mode due to the reconstruction of the sewerage system, water supply and road.
