Prague prepares to select a designer for the continuation of the Blanka tunnel

Prague - Prague will announce a tender for a designer by the end of the year or at the beginning of 2017, who will prepare the continuation of the Blanka tunnel, the so-called northeastern part of the city ring road. This will be an investment in the order of tens of billions of crowns. In response to a query from ČTK, Deputy Mayor Petr Dolínek (ČSSD) said this today. When construction might start will only be clear once the project is completed.

The Blanka tunnel, which cost approximately 43 billion crowns, has been in operation for a year. The subsequent transport construction, which would divert cars from Troja and Holešovičky further towards the Štěrboholská radial, is still missing. "It is necessary for Prague to continue investing in transport constructions. We are taking real steps to select designers for the preparation of the continuation of the ring road," said the deputy mayor. According to him, it will depend on agreement within the coalition.

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) already recommended earlier that the inner ring should continue along the route of Povltavská street. "There is an agreement that cars will travel in one direction along Povltavská street, while in the other direction they will go through the depression under the White Rock," explained Alexandr Butovič from the Satra company, which designed the Blanka tunnel. "This option is the most suitable in terms of the burden on the surroundings," he added.

The six-kilometer Blanka tunnel connects with the Mrázovka tunnel and the Strahov tunnel. Together, they form the longest tunnel complex in Central Europe. Blanka starts at the Malovanka intersection and ends in Troja at the so-called Troja Bridge.