The newly opened S1 road connecting the I/11 and I/56 roads marks the first step in the completion of the Opava bypass
The Road and Motorway Directorate is opening the first (eastern) part of the road bypass of the town of Opava ahead of schedule today, 15 December 2009. The relocation of transit traffic outside of the centre of Opava is the chief priority when opening the new connection.
The existing road system in Opava is characterised by its fan-like arrangement. The backbone roads of the system are the existing I/11, I/46, I/56, I/57, and II/464 roads. In their current arrangement, they route all transit traffic into the centre of Opava where an incomplete internal urban ring road handles the distribution of the transit traffic between the aforementioned roads.
“This has led to the fact that the capacity of the urban ring road is now almost fully used up, resulting in undesirable congestion and, most notably, severe impairment of the environment in the central part of the town”, says Alfred Brunclík, the CEO of RMD. The transit traffic should be directed towards the relayed I/56 road (the northern bypass) and the large urban ring road. “The function of the S1 connection and the related traffic node in Kateřinky is to connect the proposed northern bypass with the I/11 road. With respect to the increasing traffic complications in the central part of the town, these projects should be considered a priority”, explains Alfred Brunclík.
The increased effort on the contractor’s part means that they have kept their promise of shortening the period of construction before commissioning by two-and-half months so that the project can be put into regular use before the 2010 winter season. It is also worth mentioning the very good cooperation with the Municipality of Opava in project preparation and implementation.
The project is co-financed by the European Union from the Structural Funds, specifically the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the Operational Programme ‘Transport’. The non-refundable EU contribution is provided as part of Priority Axis 4 – “Upgrading of Class I Roads outside of TEN-T” at up to 85% of eligible cost.
View an information leaflet including a map of the project site here.
Information about the project:
Project title: Connection of the I/11 and I/56 Roads, S1 Connection Road in Opava
Location of site: Moravia-Silesia Region
Project commencement: April 2008
Project completion: December 2009
Project price: CZK 651,477,254
Length: 1,750 m
