The Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD) began rebuilding another part of road I/48 near Nový Jičín into the D48 motorway at the turn of September and October 2026.[1][3] This is the second stage of the D48 MÚK Bělotín–Rybí project, 3.815 kilometres long, which begins beyond the viaduct over the railway line and road I/57 in Šenov u Nového Jičína and ends before the viaduct at Libhošť.[1][3] ŘSD wants to put the section into operation at the turn of 2028 and 2029.[1][2]

The contractor is a consortium of MI Roads, BES and Metrostav DS, and the contract price is about 870 million crowns excluding VAT.[1] ŘSD originally estimated the costs at 1.2 billion crowns.[1] The current four-lane road has no adequate hard shoulders and the opposite lanes are separated only in places by cable barriers.[1][2] The rebuilding will create a motorway with a central reservation and hard shoulders, with ŘSD intending to use the existing earthworks and bridge structures.[1]

The project includes the rebuilding of the Nový Jičín-západ and Nový Jičín-východ interchanges, two bridge structures and six noise barriers with a total length of 992 metres.[1] At the western interchange the slip roads will be adapted to motorway standards; at the eastern one the original slip roads will be removed and two roundabouts will be built.[1][3] The northern one will allow connection of the planned Kunín bypass.[1][3] Before construction began, ŘSD had to buy out land along the road because the motorway is wider.[2]

During construction traffic will run with one lane in each direction.[1][3] One half of the motorway is to be built first, with traffic moved onto it by the end of 2027, and the second half in 2028.[3]

Once the section is finished, the only thing left to rebuild on the route between Bělotín and the Polish border will be the viaduct in Šenov u Nového Jičína, for which ŘSD has a technical study prepared.[1][2][3] ŘSD Director General Radek Mátl said that its rebuilding would come in three to four years at the earliest.[3] Earlier, ŘSD opened five kilometres of motorway between Bělotín and Dub in December 2023 and, a year later, more than eight kilometres between Palačov and Šenov.[1] The 3.7-kilometre Dub–Palačov section is to open in October 2026.[1] Nový Jičín mayor Stanislav Kopecký said that the town is the last larger town on the route without a full motorway connection.[2]

Sources

  1. Zdopravy.cz — 30 September 2026
  2. Novinky.cz — 30 September 2026
  3. Ostravská Drbna — 1 October 2026