Bučovičtí are in dispute with the heritage conservators regarding the relocation of the road

Bučovice (Vyškovsko) - The construction of a road that would relieve Bučovice in the Vyškov region burdened by traffic is moving away. According to Deputy Mayor František Šujan, this is due to the heritage protectors. The investor of the construction, the Directorate of Roads and Highways, planned to apply for the start of the territorial proceedings this year according to Šujan, so that land could begin to be acquired. However, the National Heritage Institute issued a negative opinion on the construction. If the heritage protectors do not change their viewpoint, it will block the construction, Šujan told reporters today. Heritage protector Jana Firbasová told ČTK today that the institute protects the national cultural monument with its decision.
    Bučovice, which has about 7,000 inhabitants, is crossed by the busy E50 road. The road leads from the D1 motorway towards Slovakia and according to a study by the Bučovice town hall, about 9,000 cars pass through it per hour during the day. Traffic is also steadily increasing. Thus, there has been talk of a bypass in Bučovice for 30 years. Eventually, the most economical solution turned out to be the relocation of the road, but according to Šujan, the heritage protectors oppose this. The relocation of the road would require adjustments to the flow of the Litava River, which, according to the deputy mayor, would shift closer to the castle garden in Bučovice and its bastion. Due to concerns about soil saturation, the National Heritage Institute rejected the construction, and the Ministry of Culture also supported this decision. The leadership of the Bučovice town hall now wants to overturn this decision.
    "We will negotiate with Minister of Culture Václav Jehlička about changing the position," Šujan stated. According to him, both sides should agree on a solution that would allow the construction of the road while addressing water issues in the castle garden. "We want to have clarity by the end of May," the politician added. He does not blame the heritage protectors for their opinion but for the fact that they did not speak up earlier, for example, during the approval of the territorial plan where the road is drawn.
    Architect Firbasová from the National Heritage Institute in Brno said that during the evaluation of the construction, the decisive factor was the study of so-called infiltration ratios by Jaromír Říha. This study indicates that during floods, the Litava River would overflow into the castle park, which is unacceptable for the heritage protectors. "It would endanger the national cultural monument," Firbasová stated. However, the heritage protectors did not have this study when they assessed the territorial plan. "The territorial plan does not address these details, which can have a negative effect," the architect stated. The heritage protectors do not refuse further discussions. If the investor submits other construction projects for the road, the heritage institute will evaluate them, Firbasová added.
    If negotiations about the construction of the road's relocation are not successful, the city is prepared to file a criminal complaint against an unknown perpetrator and sue one of the state institutions, according to the deputy mayor. The town hall has been working for 12 years on resolving the traffic situation in Bučovice. Bučovice has changed the territorial plan twice for this reason and has acquired and demolished several houses. "Our technical department is currently calculating how much it has cost us. Once we know the real price, we will sue for the real price," Šujan stated.
    If the project for the relocation of the road fails, according to the mayor, it will delay the resolution of the city's traffic burden by 25 to 50 years. A year ago, the then Minister of Transport Milan Šimonovský estimated that the Bučovice bypass could be built in 2009.