The ŘSD will start replacing thousands of windows in Plzeň due to noise

Plzeň - The Plzeň branch of the Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD) will begin changing thousands of windows in Plzeň this spring due to excessive traffic noise. This year, it will receive nearly 20 million crowns from the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure (SFDI) for this purpose. As long as the ŘSD has funding, it will replace windows along road I/26 on Rokycanská Avenue from Prague to the city center. To replace all 3,400 windows affected by traffic noise in Plzeň, it needs 35 million CZK. This was reported today by the director of the Plzeň ŘSD, Zdeněk Kuťák.
    "We are preparing the tender documentation, which will be completed by the end of January. Immediately afterward, we will announce the selection process for a contractor," he added. The tender will be expedited, and the ŘSD will reach out to five selected companies, as the installation of heavier windows and assembly will be more challenging than for standard types. The replacement will start in March to April. "After consulting with the regional hygiene station, we will not do anything beyond the norm. The hygienists are reasonable and do not make up anything," Kuťák said.
    In the Plzeň area, modifications are necessary in 252 buildings. About 90 percent of the windows will be replaced, while the rest will be adjusted or resealed. The ŘSD will cover the complete window modifications, and citizens will not contribute to the costs. "We are starting with Rokycanská, where the street profile and route are clearly defined, and therefore there will be no deviations due to new constructions," said the director.
    The ŘSD manages 450 km of first-class roads in the Plzeň region. Around the most heavily burdened ones, it will be responsible for the replacement of tens of thousands of windows at a cost of at least 200 million CZK. The directorate has noise exemptions from hygienists until 2011, and in Plzeň until 2010. Funding will depend on the development of the budget. In the coming years, funds will be allocated for the replacement of windows around bypasses outside Plzeň. The second priority is road I/22 Domažlice-Klatovy-Horažďovice.
    Throughout the Czech Republic, the SFDI plans to allocate 640 million crowns for noise protection over the next three years, according to Deputy Director Jiří Novák. However, the fund is not inclined towards replacements, as new windows do not reduce noise levels on the roads but only in apartments. Nevertheless, hygienists measure the intensity of noise outside the windows.
    By the end of the year, the ŘSD Plzeň aims to measure all communications in the region. The mapping of noise pollution has three phases. The final phase is a precise acoustic study and the proposal of measures including costs. So far, this has only been processed in Plzeň for the I/26 bypass. The second phase of mapping is taking place on road I/22 and is expected to finish in the middle of this year, Kuťák added.