Charakteristika
In 2015, the Blanka tunnel complex was put into operation in Prague, and it is seamlessly connected to a series of other structures on the City Ring Road, which, once completed, will finally complete Prague's inner ring road. The total length of this complex is 10.5 km, most of which consists of routes running through tunnels, both bored and cut-and-cover, with a total length of 8.5 km.
An indisputable advantage of the chosen solution is the fact that, once completed and fully operational, the City Ring Road will certainly take over a significant part of the traffic load and have a positive impact on the currently heavily congested surface roads. It will reduce emissions from slow-moving vehicles, reduce the cost of transporting goods, and reduce travel time for all users.
At the same time, it opens up the possibility of urban development above the tunnels themselves, which are currently severely neglected, partly due to construction closures (the Libeňská Junction area). More than 40 km of new non-motorized roads are planned, including separate bike paths, combined protected routes, and the establishment of dedicated bike lanes on roads. This mainly involves the construction of cut-and-cover tunnels. It will be used locally – for example, under the Bílá skála natural monument, where the entire route deviates from the Vltava River, allowing the currently congested Povltavská Street to be completely abandoned and a park-like rest and relaxation zone to be established in its corridor.
The construction of the Libeňská Junction tunnels under the Zenklova Street will be completely atypical. In an effort to minimize the demolition of surrounding buildings, two tunnels will be built vertically above each other to minimize their footprint. This solution is truly unique on the MO route.
An integral part of the City Ring Road and Libeňská Junction construction is the modification of connecting surface roads, including the railway crossing. The most significant point will be a forced spatial modification of the railway viaduct over the Rokytka River in the Horovo náměstí area. Here, while maintaining railway operations, half of the current bridge structure will be gradually removed (train operations will be maintained on one track), followed by the construction of half of the new bridge, to which railway traffic will be transferred so that the rest of the original bridge can be removed and the final form of the new double-track railway viaduct can be completed. This solution is truly unique in the Czech Republic and technically extremely complex. However, a long-term closure of the railway line is not possible.
