The Blanka Tunnel still has issues with approval even ten years after its launch

Prague - The Blanka tunnel complex has not yet been fully approved for use even ten years after its launch. All parts of the complex have it, except for the section between Špejchar and Pelc-Tyrolka, which local associations have repeatedly challenged successfully through lawsuits due to noise in the Holešovičky area. The court last annulled the approval for the mentioned section this June, and according to the spokesperson of the city hall, Vít Hofman, the city expects to regain it in the next proceedings. The complex was put into trial operation on September 19, 2015.

"All parts of the Blanka tunnel complex have been approved for over six years, except for the city ring road section numbered 0079 Špejchar – Pelc-Tyrolka. The approval process for this section is still ongoing due to a series of consecutive administrative lawsuits. We anticipate that the result of this process will be the reissuance of the approval decision," stated Hofman.

The problematic section received approval in 2019, but the court first annulled it in 2021 based on a lawsuit from the Holešovičky for People association. The office subsequently reissued the decision, but in June 2023, the Municipal Court in Prague annulled it again and returned the case for further proceedings. The office issued another approval last October, to which the association responded with another lawsuit, again successful.

The problem primarily revolves around noise prevention measures at several houses near the north exit of the tunnel, to which the city committed in the building permit. However, according to the latest ruling by the Municipal Court in Prague, the city did not justify why the measures were not implemented or provided any further information about it.

As such, the court returned the matter back to the municipal department of land communications and railways, which will decide again. The municipal office stated that this was purely a formal reason, as the court did not receive documents that were in another file. Residents of V Holešovičkách street have long criticized the capital city for the level of noise and demanded the deepening of the busy road underground, so far without success.

The Blanka tunnel complex, consisting of three tunnels, is part of the northwestern section of the city ring road, which has a total length of nearly 6.4 kilometers. The trio of tunnels measures 5.5 kilometers. The construction of Blanka began in 2007, gradually accumulating several years of delays and also increased in cost to 43 billion crowns. According to the Road and Motorway Directorate (TSK), over 90,000 cars on average pass through some parts of the tunnel daily.