Tunnelling of an exploratory gallery for the future Prostřední Vrch tunnel on the D3 motorway began near Václavice in the Benešov area on 1 October 2026; the work, costing 248 million crowns excluding VAT, is to last roughly a year.
Tunnelling of an exploratory gallery for the Prostřední Vrch tunnel on the future Central Bohemian section of the D3 motorway, in the Václavice – Voračice stretch, began near Václavice in the Benešov area on 1 October 2026. The work will cost 248 million crowns excluding VAT and will last roughly a year, until October 2027.[1][2][3]
The gallery
The gallery, which the builders named Žofie after the wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand d'Este, from the nearby Konopiště chateau, will be 838 metres long and will reach a depth of up to 42 metres below the surface. It is to map geological conditions and unstable zones in a heavily fractured rock mass, where blocks of rock may come loose. A geologist will assess each advance, and support for the gallery will be designed according to conditions. The survey will also include core drilling. The results are to serve as a basis for the tender documentation, the tunnelling technology and the final lining of the tunnel.[1][2]
The director general of the Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD), Radek Mátl, said that the more information there is in advance, the smaller the likelihood of complications during construction. Transport minister Ivan Bednárik (for SPD) said that this is already the third exploratory gallery for tunnels on the Central Bohemian D3; two more are being built near Jílové.[1][2]
The Central Bohemian D3
The Central Bohemian section of the D3 is to be 58.5 kilometres long and will run from the Prague Ring Road at Jesenice past Jílové, Hostěradice, Václavice, Voračice and Nová Hospoda. The six-kilometre Václavice connector will link it to Benešov. The project includes 51 bridges, 14 overpasses, seven tunnels and noise barriers 17.1 kilometres long. ŘSD plans to start construction in 2028 and complete it in four years; the expected cost is 71.3 billion crowns.[1][2]
According to Bednárik, around 75 percent of the land should be settled by the end of 2026, and according to Mátl all voluntary purchases should end by the end of 2027. According to the minister, the state will spend around ten billion crowns this year on preparing motorway construction, of which up to six billion on the D3. The completion of the motorway has opponents, who object to its route through the tourist-attractive Posázaví region and fear for water; ŘSD and the Ministry of Transport reject their objections.[1]
Related articles: Dálnice D3
Chronology
- — Tunnelling began near Václavice on an exploratory tunnel for the future Prostřední Vrch tunnel on the D3 motorway; the work is to cost CZK 248 million and last until 2027. ČTK / České noviny Novinky.cz
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 1 October 2026
- Novinky.cz — 1 October 2026
- ČT24: regiony — 1 October 2026