Brno can purchase land for the construction of a circuit in the Žabovřeská area

Brno - The city councilors of Brno approved the purchase of the last plots of land needed for the construction of the large city ring road in the Žabovřeská section. The city will pay more than five million crowns to the company Login Talk for them. Brno has had long disputes with the landowner, which delayed the construction. According to Deputy Mayor Richard Mrázek (ANO), construction on one part of the Žabovřeská section could start as early as this year. A total of 35 councilors voted in favor of the purchase, nobody was against, and two abstained.

The work on the Žabovřeská section, costing nearly three billion crowns, is expected to last about 40 months. Currently, there is a two-lane road at the construction site, where traffic jams form every day, as a four-lane road connects from both sides.

The city will acquire ten parcels with a total area of 1,645 square meters. Their estimated price is around three million crowns. "The amount is a compromise between what the city is willing to pay and what the owner is willing to accept. It is a success in that we couldn't resolve this for a long time," said Mrázek.

The company’s managing director Robert Bittó wanted to exchange the plots with the city for, for example, a parking lot near the Sono Center or three commercial properties, however, their price was around 30 million crowns. Bittó pointed out that in the past it was possible to obtain up to sixteen times the price for plots of land for important transport constructions and also that he receives income from his plots. However, the city did not agree to such an exchange. The city offered a different plot, which Bittó disagreed with.

Therefore, the city had previously initiated expropriation proceedings. According to Mrázek, however, expropriation would take longer and could delay the construction by years, so the current agreement with the owner is better, even though the city will pay more than the estimated price for the land. After the approval by the council, the city has the mandate to pay for the purchase, which is a prerequisite for submitting the contract to the land registry. According to Mrázek, the registration should occur within a month.

The city will transfer part of the land to the Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD), which is the investor of the construction. The city will keep part of it. The ŘSD can then complete the necessary documents for the building permit. The construction had outdated EIA documentation regarding the impact on the environment. Therefore, new documentation is being prepared, and after obtaining a positive opinion, it will be possible to obtain a building permit.

In January, the ŘSD announced that the first phase of the construction, costing 400 million, could start in the first half of this year. The entire construction is expected to be completed in 2021. First, it is necessary to move the tram line further from the river, which means cutting a tunnel into the rock under Wilson's Forest in part of the route. After that, it will be possible to widen the current road from two to four lanes. Upon completion of the construction, it should be possible to travel through the northern and western parts of the city ring road without traffic jams.

The last open section of the ring was the Královopolské tunnels in 2012. At the end of last year, the city began demolishing some buildings in the barracks in Židenice to start building the sections Tomkovo náměstí and Rokytova in the northeastern part of the city.