The center of Chrudim remains impassable

Pardubice - The transit through the center of Chrudim remains closed. The extensive reconstruction of Široká Street was supposed to be completed by the end of November, forcing cars to make a lengthy detour, but the construction company Grano Skuteč did not meet this deadline. According to Deputy Mayor Petr Řezníček, the town hall rejected the request for an extension, and wants to charge the contractor a daily penalty of 5000 crowns.
"The contract is set so that by December 1, the work will be fully handed over for operation. However, the construction is not completed, and Chrudim will not take it over. In the last month at every inspection day, we clearly told the representatives of the company: Increase the number of employees, speed up the pace of the pavers. The December 1 deadline is non-negotiable; no trains will run past it, and don't count on anyone giving you a pardon," Řezníček said.
According to him, Grano assured the town hall several times that they would meet the deadline, but on November 22 they requested an extension until December 10, which the town did not agree to. The prolonged construction is a thorn in the side of both the residents of the city and the entrepreneurs who have their businesses in the center. It is not yet clear when the reconstruction will be completed and when cars will be able to drive through the street again.
For nearly 17 million crowns, the sidewalks in Široká Street have been widened according to the design of architect Roman Koucký and paved with granite cobblestones together with the roadway. The traffic will remain two-way; however, the passage of cars will be slowed and made more difficult by 16 small steps with a slanted ramp. These should encourage motorists to avoid the center.
The Grano company denies that the delays are its fault. "The reason is the fact that a different contractor was responsible for the reconstruction of the utility networks within the construction. New gas connections were made against the original project, and during this time our construction work had to be interrupted," said Petr Ištvánek, director of construction production at Grano Skuteč, to ČTK. He did not want to comment on the penalties claimed by the town hall.
The construction company is also facing delays in another way. "No invoices have been paid so far. We have not even taken over the completed parts of the construction, such as the utility networks," added Řezníček.