The architect proposed a new route D3 near Č. Budějovice, the city is against it

České Budějovice - Czech architect Ladislav Vonášek has proposed a new route for the D3 highway near České Budějovice. He came up with this idea because he believes that the currently prepared option would divide the city into two parts and prevent its further development. The new proposal considers a route further away from the city behind the Lišov threshold, Vonášek told reporters today. However, the city rejects his proposal as it would delay construction by several years.
    "We will discuss leading the highway behind the Lišov threshold. It has one advantage. The traffic on the radial exits, which are further apart, will be diluted, and transit traffic will not disturb the city," explained Vonášek. He added that there is also a trend in other parts of Europe to lead highways further away from large cities and that now is the last opportunity for changes in the highway route in Budějovice.
    However, shifting the highway would affect several municipalities. "We are willing to negotiate with anyone; such an opportunity will not arise again for another 100 years. Municipalities are talking about the highway and are aware of it. I assume every municipal councilor knows about the alternatives that would lead somewhere else," the architect stated.
    According to the city, however, the architect came up with the proposal too late, as discussions about the highway route have been ongoing for decades, and a zoning decision is expected to be issued by the end of the year. "There have obviously been more options presented here, debates have occurred at various levels, and there was even a solution to run parallel with the railway on a bridge. But time has shown that this is the best option for Budějovice," said Deputy Mayor František Jelen regarding the current proposal. He emphasized that delaying the current solution would postpone the construction of the highway near the city by several years and that routing the communication further from the city would actually hinder its development.
    "At the moment, as negotiations are taking place at the Ministry of Transport, this variant is not even known, and currently the original variant is being prepared," said Josef Pešl, director of the South Bohemian Directorate of Roads and Highways (ŘSD). There is also no documentation prepared for the new variant; it is only drawn on a map, and therefore the ŘSD cannot evaluate it. Assessing the new D3 route would take at least two years, Pešl added.
    The ŘSD is already preparing a new variant of the D3 highway near České Budějovice between Úsilné and Hodějovice. The Ministry of Transport has thus accommodated the demands of the municipalities. The highway route remains unchanged, but the roadway will be more environmentally friendly and considerate to residents than the original variant. The highway was originally supposed to run more over bridges and embankments, and it would have divided the city into two parts. The new solution, which considers a larger embedding of the highway into the terrain, will cost around two billion crowns more.
    The entire planned route of the D3 highway from Prague to the Austrian border measures 171.4 kilometers, and the cost of its construction is estimated at 80 billion crowns. The ŘSD estimates that the remaining sections of the highway in South Bohemia could start construction between 2009 and 2011. The roads are already included in the zoning plans, and documentation for the zoning decision is currently being completed.