Seven new autoroutes and high speed roads are scheduled to open in the Czech Republic in 2009. The new roads will total 53 kilometers in length, with the longest stretch of road opening in the autumn. The D1 will be connected between Olomouc and Ostrava with three segments planned to open in November totaling 34.4 kilometers.
Additionally, Prague’s ring road will see some progress and 2010 will see the connection of Brno’s D1 and Plzen’s D5. All of these additions to the major highways of the Republic have led to a doubling of length in high speed routes over the past two decades. In 1989, there were 544 kilometers of high speed roads and autoroutes in the country, and by the end of 2009 there will be 1,056 kilometers.
Martina Vápeníková, spokeswoman for the The Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic, noted that “The biggest advances were made in the last two years, when 136 km of new motorways and high-speed roads were added.” Plans call for a complete network of four lane roads totaling approximately 2,100 kilometers.
