The tour of the tunnel construction in Klimkovice attracted crowds of people

OSTRAVA - Thousands of people came today to Klimkovice in the Nový Jičín region to see the construction of tunnels, which are part of one phase of the construction of the D47 motorway. Some traveled from Ostrava to see the only motorway tunnels in northern Moravia and Silesia. Others lived nearby and were more interested in the source of the noise in their vicinity.
"The tunnel is being dug a short distance from my house. I was mainly interested in the blasting work because I hear and feel it. When they detonate, it feels like a machine gun is firing in the house," Milan Žurovec told ČTK. Although the blasts disturb him, he does not protest against the construction. "We counted on this and we were prepared for something like this. The tunnel has to be here," he said.
One of the leaders of the construction, Jiří Kolář, told ČTK that the companies installed sensors in the surrounding houses to monitor any possible disturbance of the buildings' stability. "If it is proven that cracks or other problems are related to the construction, the Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD) surely has a fund from which the repairs would be paid," Kolář said. He added that the sensors also monitor the buildings around the access road, which is now used by many more trucks.
Cracks have appeared on the walls of the Klimkovice elementary school. "We have already contacted the ŘSD. They commissioned a structural stability study by expert witnesses, and it suggests that the cracks are not related to the construction," said the mayor of the town, Pavel Malík, to ČTK.
The Klimkovice tunnels, which will measure over a kilometer, began construction this April and should be operational in 2008. People who came to see the construction were most interested in how the rock is blasted and what safety measures will be in place once the tunnels are in operation, Kolář said.
According to the designers, the safety measures meet the strictest parameters. Both tubes are connected at five points with links that will allow for the evacuation of vehicle occupants in the event of an accident or fire and will also allow for the quick arrival of emergency crews. "Every 150 meters, there will also be SOS niches with cabins that will protect people inside from potential fire and from which help can be called," Kolář explained.
The D47 motorway will connect the Ostrava region to the remaining motorway network in the Czech Republic. The route runs from Lipník nad Bečvou to the Czech-Polish border in the Karviná area. It measures more than 80 kilometers and will cost 47 billion crowns. The tunnels themselves will cost 2.4 billion crowns.