Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic - Road and Motorway Directorate launches final stage of construction of the R6 high-speed road between Karlovy Vary and Cheb

The entire route of the future R6 high-speed road is part of the European E48 corridor, which connects Prague with Karlovy Vary, Cheb, and the German border.
"Once it is complete, the section of the R6 high-speed road between Karlovy Vary and Cheb will, thanks to its widening from a two-land to a four-lane road, contribute significantly to improving traffic flow and reducing travel time. Construction of the R6 from Nové Sedlo to Sokolov is just one of several R6 projects in this section - the full capacity of the route between Karlovy Vary and Cheb will be achieved with completion of the Kamenný Dvůr-Tisová project, which is nearing completion, and the Nové Sedlo-Jenišov and Sokolov-Tisová projects," states the directorate's director general, Alfred Brunclík, in assessing the more than 20 kilometer section of high-speed road.
The route starts at the recently completed R6 Nové Sedlo-Jenišov segment, from where it continues southwest along the existing I/6. From the start of the section until the interchange with road III/2099 (Sokolov-Loket), the existing road will be widened to the left. From the III/2099 interchange until the interchange with the II/210, the new half of the roadway will be added on the right side. At the end of the route, the new segment links up with the R6 Sokolov-Tisová project currently under construction. The total length of the segment is 7,480 meters. It is designed as a R 24.5/100 segment, i.e., with a 3-meter-wide center divider, two 3.75-meter-wide lanes, and a 2-meter-wide paved shoulder. The interchanges include merging and exit lanes. The only place where the new road will be category R 17.5/80 is at the Ohře river crossing.

The route of the new high-speed road has been designed in order to make as much use as possible of the existing I/6 road. This principle could not be followed for the segment passing through an important landscape feature (the forest from km 1.0 to km 3.0). Here, the route could not meet EIA requirements and will thus be raised from the current road level in order to allow for a bio-corridor and forest path to pass under the I/6.

The route is connected to the roadway network via the interchange near Sokolov-Těšovice and Stará Ovčárna. All other on- and off-ramps from the I/6 will be cancelled. Access to the surrounding area will be via field roads linking up with class II and III roads.

Although the planned route does not significantly approach any inhabited structures, two types of anti-noise measures have been designed for locations where the new road will not meet noise limits after being opened to traffic - sound walls totaling almost 1,500 meters in length and the replacement of old windows with new ones with better sound-proofing.

The construction of the high-speed road also includes the renovation or new construction of 10 bridges at a total length of 493 meters. The road will also affect several utility networks, which will have to be realigned or otherwise altered.

Information on project:
Project name: R6 Nové Sedlo-Sokolov
Length: 7,480 m
Region: Karlovy Vary
Cost: CZK 2,496,283,222
Opening date: September 2011