The pedestrian underpass in Old Blansko is expected to be completed in December

Photo: Michal Záboj

Blansko - The pedestrian underpass at the Blansko-město railway station is expected to be completed this December. The construction is related to the overpass at Staré Blansko and the closure of the level crossing of the railway line with Rožmitálová Street. Once completed, the surrounding area will also be modified, including the construction of a new park-and-ride parking lot. This information was provided by the town hall spokesperson Pavla Komárková on the Blansko website.

The new underpass will be four meters wide and 38 meters long, with staircases on both sides complemented by elevators for up to 15 people, each with a capacity of 1150 kilograms, designed to accommodate stretchers from rescuers.

"We are currently building the steel structure and roof covering over half of the crossing closer to the center of Blansko. The underground part of the new underpass in this area was completed at the turn of July and August this year. The tilers are now placing granite tiles on the floor. Work is also being done in the other half of the underpass nearer to Staré Blansko, where we are currently creating reinforcement for the load-bearing part of the floor. We are also constructing elevator shafts, technical networks, and sewage under the area of the future parking lot," described Tomáš Žák, project manager from Firesta-Fišer, reconstruction, construction company.

Due to the need to maintain traffic on the railway line, where passenger trains still run to the Blansko station, the new underpass is being built in halves. During the entire construction, vehicular traffic also passes through the site, but it is narrowed to one lane and traffic is controlled by traffic lights.

"Until August, the second track was in operation, now trains are running on track number one. The original underpass was demolished during the summer, and a sealing basin has now started to grow on its site following the application of base concrete. We will subsequently place the load-bearing structure of the underpass into it," Žák detailed.

According to him, the company is expected to complete work on the underpass by December 9. Starting from December, a new connection over the track, the overpass at Staré Blansko, is also expected to begin operating. The operation on the railway line should also be restored. "We expect that the operation on the Brno-Česká Třebová corridor will be fully restored between Brno and Blansko from December 11. Replacement bus transport will again be replaced by train connections," stated Martin Hofírek from the investment department of the Railway Administration, which is currently finishing the modernization of the line, including the reconstruction of tunnels between Blansko and Adamov.

Following the completion of the underpass, according to the spokesperson, modifications to the surrounding area will also take place, including the repair of Komenského and Rožmitálová Streets from the bridge over the Svitava River, along with the construction of a new P+R park-and-ride parking lot, which will be built on the site of the former station building. Under the shelter in Rožmitálová Street, bike racks and boxes will be added for passengers, where they can lock their bikes. On the other side, new toilets and a public transport stop will be created.