Metrostav and Partners Set to Begin Modernization of Another Section of D1 Highway

The upgrade of the D1 Highway section stretching over approximately five kilometers between the municipalities of Hvězdonice and Ostředek is scheduled to begin in the coming days. Worth approximately 550 million crowns, the project will be carried out by the consortium of Metrostav, Swietelsky and Hochtief, led by the former. Following the signing of the contract with the Road and Motorway Directorate, the consortium’s representatives have taken over the construction site and engaged in intensive preparations for the demanding task that lies ahead. Given that the busiest Czech highway, particularly its cement-concrete pavement, reached the end of its projected service life a decade ago, the road surface is now plagued with innumerable problems, such as cracks, corrosion, roadway disintegration, and vertically shifting panels. Because ongoing repairs of the individual problems are no longer enough to maintain the highway in appropriate condition, a comprehensive overhaul has become necessary. As part of the upgrade, the roadway will be widened outwards. The new pavement will be 270 millimeters thick and will be built using recycled materials from the original road. The project will include two bridges, the removal of an old overpass and the construction of a new one, sewerage, an SOS system, four right-hand shoulder emergency bays, the relocation of a noise barrier, and numerous other tasks smaller in scope. The demolition of an overpass at kilometer 34 will necessitate the complete closure of the highway for a 14-hour period. According to Josef Neuwirth, Head of Metrostav’s Transport Infrastructure Projects Division, the highway modernization project will present numerous challenges for the contractors and drivers alike. “No major complications are expected. The project will be executed by seasoned specialists, using state-of-the-art equipment, not to mention that our company has ample experience with similar projects. In the past, we have worked on the construction of many sections of the D1 Highway in Northern Moravia and on the D3 Highway near the city of Tábor. Our most recent project was last year’s reconstruction of the cement-concrete pavement of some 14 kilometers of the D1 and D2 Highways. We are confident that the project will be executed in strict adherence to the timetable to the full satisfaction of both the client and highway users, and that it will provide us with a springboard for winning other transport infrastructure contracts in future.” Construction workers will work in 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, conforming to the conditions required by the authorities and in consideration of technical restrictions. The project will begin with temporary modifications to the existing roadway, where traffic will be channeled to 2+2 lanes in each direction. An overhaul of the median and the sewerage system will ensue, during which the fast lanes in both directions will be closed. Subsequently, the left and right halves of the highway in the direction of Prague and Brno, respectively, will be successively upgraded. During most of the works, traffic will be restricted to 2+2 lanes in each direction.