Blansko will buy additional land necessary for the planned bridge

Blansko - After several years of negotiations, Blansko has reached an agreement with landowners to purchase parcels necessary for the planned bridge construction in Staré Blansko. These are properties in the former Coal Storage area on Svitavská Street. The purchase of these lands was one of the last obstacles to starting preparations for the construction, city spokesperson Pavla Komárková stated in a press release today. The municipal council approved the land purchase agreement this week. The city will pay 12.5 million for the parcels.

The parcels forming the former Coal Storage area on Svitavská Street, amounting to a total of 3,899 square meters, including several buildings owned by Jan and Miloš Librov, will now become city property.

"This was the longest-negotiated land purchase related to the preparations for the bridge construction in Staré Blansko. Various options for acquiring the necessary parts of the site into ownership were gradually addressed; we negotiated with the Librov brothers about the possibility of establishing easements, leases, and so on. We held a number of meetings, and eventually managed to agree on the sale of the entire site, meaning all parcels and all buildings on them," said Blansko's Deputy Mayor Ivo Polák (ČSSD).

The price for the parcels was set by an expert at nearly 12.5 million crowns. "However, thanks to the sale, one of the biggest obstacles to the bridge construction has fallen. It was starting to look hopeless. If we hadn't reached an agreement, the only option left would have been to consider expropriation," Polák added.

According to the spokesperson, the city will now have contractually secured the vast majority of parcels necessary for the new bridge construction. They are either recorded in future purchase agreements, exchange agreements, or are covered by cooperation agreements. Blansko is currently in final negotiations with the management of the Penny supermarket chain.

The new bridge over the Brno - Česká Třebová railway corridor will connect Staré Blansko with the rest of the city, improving accessibility for locals as well as emergency responders and firefighters. The construction of the 150-meter bridge and the wheelchair-accessible underpass is expected to begin in 2022, when a service interruption on the railway line is scheduled. The bridge and related projects are estimated to cost a total of 350 million crowns.