<RSD: The northern bypass of Kuřim is 2.6 billion CZK cheaper than the southern one>

Kuřim (Brno area) - The northern bypass of Kuřim in the Brno area, which is intended to connect the busy road I/43 with the planned expressway R43, will cost 2.6 billion crowns less than the southern bypass. This is based on a study commissioned by the Directorate of Roads and Highways (ŘSD). The southern variant, advocated by the Kuřim city council and local residents, is estimated to cost 6.6 billion, while the northern one will only cost four billion crowns. This was stated by the spokesperson of ŘSD, Martina Vápeníková.
According to the civic association for the realization of the bypass, up to 18,000 vehicles pass through the streets of Kuřim daily. The construction of the northern variant of the bypass, according to them, will worsen the situation after the completion of the R43, which is meant to connect Brno with the Pardubice region. The association and the city council support the southern bypass around the city with a tunnel through Kuřimská hora.
According to the ŘSD study, the traffic model predicts higher traffic intensity on the northern bypass by 2030 - Kuřim should see 7,000 vehicles daily from Tišnov and 14,000 from Brno at that time. The southern variant would have an intensity of 6,000 and 10,000.
According to Vápeníková, however, the northern connection of I/43 and R43 performs better in comparison of both variants. In addition to future traffic intensity, the study also dealt with financing options from the ŘSD budget or technical risks.
"Moreover, the ŘSD is bound by the implementation of the crisis plan of the Minister of Transport to achieve savings in infrastructure construction. It assumes that the state should save more on land acquisitions, building grade-separated intersections, and transport constructions that are not strictly necessary," Vápeníková said.
However, the final form of the bypass route will not be influenced by the ŘSD. "As a state investment organization, we do not decide which variant will eventually be incorporated into the territorial planning," added Vápeníková.
The construction of the R43 is to have three phases, but none of them currently has a valid EIA statement regarding the construction's impact on the environment. All three sections are now undergoing management at the Ministry of the Environment, which demands a revision of the necessary documents for assessing the construction. One of the ministry's criticisms is that there is no traffic concept in southern Moravia where the R43 corridor would be firmly established.
The definitive routing of the R43 through the landscape is to be determined by the so-called principles of territorial development of the South Moravian Region, which are currently being processed. In the summer, the region will present a draft that will be publicly discussed. By the end of the year, it should be approved by the representatives, supplemented with comments.