Last year, four kilometers of new highways were completed

Prague - This year, four kilometers of new highways were completed in the Czech Republic. Construction companies handed over 26 kilometers on the renovated D1 highway for use. Additionally, 15 kilometers of first-class roads were completed. The Ministry of Transport and the Directorate of Roads and Motorways (ŘSD) announced this through ČTK. The opposition in the Chamber of Deputies criticizes the slow pace of construction. Transport Minister Dan Ťok (for ANO), who has been in office for more than four years, points out that his predecessors halted the preparation of the projects.

In last year's policy statement, the government stated that it wants to put into operation 210 kilometers of highways by 2021, including 110 kilometers of new highways and 100 kilometers of repaired D1. This year, construction companies started building 54 kilometers of new highways and 16 kilometers of first-class roads. For the renovated D1, this was 21 kilometers.

The government has long been a target of criticism due to the slow construction and repairs of roads, and experts say the pace of construction remains slow. For example, according to analyst Petr Pelc from Cyrrus, the problem lies primarily in the preparatory phase, which usually takes more than ten years in the Czech Republic. From 2018 to 2020, Pelc expects the construction of about 50 kilometers of highways.

The opposition does not hold back on its criticism. "When a minister makes excuses about his predecessors in his first year in office, it's standard. In the second year, it becomes shamelessness. I don't know how to describe the 'courage' to blame his incompetence on his predecessors in the fifth year in office," wrote Miroslav Kalousek, head of the TOP 09 deputies, on Twitter over the weekend. Ťok countered that Kalousek, as Minister of Finance, halted funding for project preparations and is now complaining that they do not exist. The Ministry of Transport also defends itself against criticism by pointing to the length of the road construction projects that have started.

Currently, 192 kilometers of highways (including D1 repairs) and first-class roads are under construction. About 70 percent relates to new sections of highways. The longest sections are Hradec Králové - Smiřice on D11 (15.46 km), Časy - Ostrov on D35 (14.7 km), and Přerov - Lipník on D1 (14.32 km).

"The most extensively constructed highway projects are and will be next year Brno's D1, South Bohemia's D3, Karlovy Vary's D6, Chomutov's D7, Hradec Králové's D11, but also the bypass of Frýdek-Místek on D46 and D56, the continuation of highway D48, or the bypass of Otrokovice on D55," said the spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport, Zdeněk Neusar. According to him, another 172 kilometers of highways and first-class roads are prepared to begin construction work next year.

List of Under Construction Highways and First-Class Roads in the Czech Republic:

Construction	Length (km)
D1 Přerov - Lipník	14.32
D1 Humpolec - Větrný Jeníkov - modernization	13.58
D1 Mirošovice - Hvězdonice - modernization	7.65
D3 Bošilec - Ševětín	8.14
D3 Ševětín - Borek	10.68
D6 Lubenec - bypass	4.86
D6 Nové Strašecí - Řevničov	5.55
D6 Řevničov - bypass	4.20
D11 Hradec Králové - Smiřice	15.46
D11 Smiřice - Jaroměř	7.15
D35 Časy - Ostrov	14.70
D46 Olšany - interchangable junction	1.10
D48 Frýdek-Místek - bypass	8.57
D48 Rybí - Rychaltice	11.53
D55 Otrokovice - southeast bypass	3.14
D56 Frýdek-Místek - connection to D48	2.31
I/11 Opava - northern bypass	1.63
I/11 Ostrava - Rudná - district boundary Opava	6.66
I/13 Třebušice - interchangable junction	1.35
I/15 Kravaře - bypass	2.72
I/16 Slaný - Velvary	12.90
I/19 Kámen - bypass	2.41
I/21 Nová Hospoda - Kočov	2.95
I/21 Trstěnice - Drmoul	5.02
I/38 Znojmo - bypass	3.54
I/41 Brno - street capacity increase Dornych	1.33
I/42 Brno - large city ring Žabovřeská I	1.80
I/53 Lechovice - bypass	4.60
I/55 Přerov-Předmostí - interchangable junction with ČD	1.46
I/57 Krnov - northeastern bypass	7.75
I/58 Příbor - Skotnice	2.97
Total	192.05
Of which highways	132.98
Of which first-class roads	59.07