Mr Evžen Vydra, the director of Waterborne Transport Department at the Ministry of Transport, Mr Lubomír Fojtů, the director of the Waterways Directorate, Mr Jan Schiller, the representative of Ústecký region, and Mr Jiří Anděl, the mayor of Děčín, launched today a construction of a new marina for recreational boats in Děčín. A few kilometres further, a modernised harbour in Hřensko was opened. It will ensure that boats will be protected even during severe floods. A construction of other four marinas for small recreational vessels will begin later this year in Ústecký region.
The French consortium Via Salis (formerly DIVia), backed by VINCI Concessions, VINCI Highways and Meridiam, has commenced the construction of 32 kilometres of the D4 motorway from Příbram to Písek and the renovation of the existing 16 kilometres of adjacent sections. According to the contract, the construction will be completed in December 2024 and the consortium will operate the motorway for the next 25 years.
The current construction of new motorways on green-field surpassed 150 kilometres. Works are in progress on D3 in South Bohemia, on D11 heading towards Czech-Polish borders, on D35 as an alternative connecting Bohemia and Moravia or on D4 to Písek, a recently launched construction in a form of a PPP project. By the end of this year, 46.5 kilometres of completely new motorways will be in operation.
The Czech Republic, Germany and Austria signed a joint statement on further development of rail link Berlin – Prague – Vienna. The travel time from Prague to both capitals should not take more than two and a half hours. The fastest trains “TEE Sprinters” stopping in the largest cities can reach the capitals in two hours. The so-called Via Vindobona was one of the main topics during the conference on future of railway organized by the German Federal Ministry of Transport as a part of the European Year of Rail.
The State Navigation Administration, the Ministry of Transport, representatives of water sports and the CzechTourism agency opened this year’s navigational season on Czech rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Due to the epidemiologic situation, this season will be unusual. We can expect greater interest in spending summer holidays in the Czech Republic. A new campaign “You are never alone on water” will remind all traffic users on water to behave according to the rules and be polite.
The Ministry of Transport does not recommend postponing roadworthiness checks and encourages drivers to book a date in case of extended validity of their roadworthiness test. The European Omnibus II regulation extended the validity of regular checks, which expired or would have expire between 1 September 2020 and 31 June 2021, by 10 months. However, the current epidemiological situation allows booking a date at Periodic Technical Inspections (PTI) stations. The main priority is safety on roads.