After 20 months of construction work, the D1 motorway in Brno is now a six-lane road, with works completed 70 days ahead of schedule. The traffic restrictions between kilometres 194 and 196, in place since August 2023 due to the widening project, have been officially lifted.
This is the first section of the D1 motorway to be widened between Kývalka and Holubice. According to the government’s information page, the Brno section of the D1 has been running smoothly since this morning. Over the past 20 months, long traffic jams have regularly formed on this section, with lorries often having to queue for tens of kilometres before reaching Brno.
“The traffic situation that arose during the construction of this section was very complicated on both the D1 and D2 motorways,” said Radek Mátl, Director General of the Roads and Motorways Directorate (ŘSD). “We are now considering how to minimise traffic jams on the section between Kývalka and Holubice, so the consequences of widening the D1 motorway to six lanes will be as limited as possible.”
There will be no further traffic restrictions on the D1 on the outskirts of Brno until the autumn, when the reconstruction of the junction with the D2 will begin. ŘSD has already signed a contract for the reconstruction of the junction. Work is currently underway to remove restrictions so that traffic can flow as smoothly as possible. The junction of the D1 and D2 motorways is one of the busiest in the Czech Republic.
“In agreement with the police, the Brno exit to Prague will not be in operation,” added Mátl. “During the reconstruction of the Brno South junction, the ramp will be closed so that traffic from the D2 motorway can smoothly enter the six-lane road. This means that the flow of lorries from the D2 will move to its own lane and continue after the work is completed. I believe this will contribute to the smoothness and safety of traffic at this junction, which will be much better than before the D1 motorway was extended to six lanes.”
ŘSD intends to speed up work on the other sections as much as possible, first widening all the bridges and then the carriageway. This could be completed between 2031 and 2032. Mátl further explained that they would like to do it all at once, so that the 11 years can be shortened to four.
