The European Commission announced today that it is starting – for the first time ever – its satellite navigation system Galileo. This makes Europe among the top world players in satellite navigation such as the USA and its popular GPS system, used now for decades, Russia with its GLONASS system and China with BeiDou. The users and owners of smartphones equipped with corresponding receivers will be able to use the signal from the Galileo satellites and, combined with the GPS system, have reception even in locations where it has been impossible or very difficult so far.
The most burdened Czech motorway will see up to nine narrowed sections in 2017 due to ongoing renovation works between Prague and Brno. To ensure that drivers can enjoy the new D1 motorway within four years, the pace of repairs must be accelerated, says Dan Ťok, minister of transportation.
In 2017, the transport sector will start constructing another 140 km of highways. Before the end of September, the Road and Highway Directorate will announce tenders for contractors for a total of 20 structures worth 64 billion crowns. The Minister of Transport, Dan Tok, said so at a joint briefing with the Minister of Finance, Andrej Babis.
Since 2017, the Ministry of Transport will remove from charging additional 11 highway stretches that consist of city bypasses and places where a highway meets I. class roads. These include, for example, entrances to Prague and part of the Prague ring road, a highway around Pilsen, Usti nad Labem, Olomouc, Prostejov or Beroun. By this step, the Ministry of Transport builds on its decision from 2016 when charges were excluded from 45 km stretches where a highway meets I. class road
Several months of negotiations among the Ministry of Transport, Environment and representatives of the Government Office have ended successfully. The European Commission confirmed the list of ten priority transport buildings among which are the bypass of Czech Budejovice, continuation of the D11 highway in Hradec Kralove or bypass of Frydek-Mistek.
The Transport Ministry will propose to the Government the implementation of electronic highway vignettes. The aim is to increase a comfort of drivers who would be newly able to pay a time charge using a mobile application too. According to the material of the Ministry, so-called video tolling could start operating in 2019.