Iron Ruda will begin to build a square that the recreational center lacks

Železná Ruda – Železná Ruda will start building a new square in August for approximately 11 million crowns, which is lacking for the largest recreational center in the Plzeň region. It will be completed no later than the Železnorudské celebrations in August 2022. The square will feature a smaller fountain, stairs, terraces, paving, and benches. Together with trees and flowers, it will create a relaxation zone. The city leadership hopes to further increase visitor numbers, which were already record-high last year due to COVID. The mayor of the city with 1,630 inhabitants, Filip Smola (ČSSD), said this today to ČTK.

"We are now announcing the tender for the contractor. We will approve the winner at the July council meeting, and work should start immediately," said the deputy mayor, Petr Najman (Volba pro Železnorudsko). According to Smola, construction should start in August, and next year it will continue as soon as the snow melts, around April. The proposed price for the tender is just under 11 million crowns.

"It will involve the adjustment of the entire area between the Slavia hotel, the main road, the town hall, and the chateau. In addition to the fountain in front of the chateau, there will be benches, greenery, and trees throughout the space, as well as completely new stairs leading up to the chateau. It will be a relaxation zone without parking," Najman said.

Two years ago, the town built approximately one-fifth of the future square area near the church, where it owned land. There are granite surfaces, benches, and public LED lighting. "Now we are planning a significantly larger area across the first-class road (Plzeň - state border with Germany)," Najman stated.

The centerpiece will be a smaller fountain, the design of which Smola did not want to reveal much about, as it will be a surprise. "This year, we would like to complete all the terrain adjustments and work, namely several terraces, paving, distributions, and networks, all for about six million crowns. Next year, once the snow melts, the city will spend the remaining funds on the fountain and park modifications." The city will apply for a regional grant for recreational zones for this phase.

To adjust this larger area of the future square, the city had to obtain land from the state, and subsequently, at the end of last year, it demolished the ruin of the former Espresso café that had disfigured the city center for decades.

According to Najman, the construction is coordinated with the longest and most complex phase of the bypass through the town, which is set to begin in April 2023. "There will be no digging at the square anymore; everything will connect and be prepared to the correct elevations," he stated. The bypass from the railway tracks to the roundabout has already been designed by the Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD), which meets weekly with city representatives. "If everything goes well, the implementation will take place in April 2023. It consists of three phases divided over two years," Smola said. The majority of the costs will be covered by ŘSD, while the city will pay for lighting, sidewalks, and network relocations. The bypass, which the city has been working on for 15 years, will improve the busy road to Germany and the appearance of the border town. Last October, ŘSD completed the first part of the bypass for more than 30 million crowns. The half-kilometer road runs from the bridge over the Řezná river to the railway crossing.