In the part between Vestec and Lahovice, the southern tunnel tube is already bored and works on the northern part are successfully drawing to an end. A completely new, 236 metre-long bridge over the Vltava is being built as well. This part, which will cost almost six milliard CZK, is being built by the association of suppliers with Skanska DS in charge. It will be finished by the year 2010. Its investor is the Road and Motorway Directorate with financial participation of the European Investment Bank and the National Transportation Infrastructure Fund.

Maximal technology is concentrated at the building site. For example, we work 24 hours a day in the tunnels, which means that up to 600 people work there each day. We need to do the maximum of ground work and the bridge foundations before winter, as cars will be driving here already in 2010, says the project’s manager Karel Fulík from the company Skanska DS. Pillars on the right side of the bridge over the Vltava have already been embedded in concrete and preparations for one of the most difficult technologically parts of the construction are under way, i.e. suspension of sliding bridge shuttering for cantilevered construction of the bridge floor. At Komořany exit of the tunnel, the concrete in the counter vault has already been already laid and reinforcement and concrete cast of the upper vault of both tunnel tubes is in process. Skanska specialists are planning the boring of the northern tube for this August.

Section R513 starts at the town of Vestec and ends with a huge elevated crossing Strakonická at Lahovice. Almost one quarter of a kilometre long bridge over the Vltava will be a dominant feature of the section just as the almost two kilometre long tunnel with two tubes, one for each direction. In the direction of the Vltava the road will have two lanes, in the opposite direction, where the road is rising, it will have three lanes – one for slow trucks. Cars will be allowed to drive at the speed of up to 100km/hour in the whole section.


Boring of the southern, three-laned tube took eight months and the two boring teams met last March. Boring of the northern tube is planned for August 2008. Despite intensive working pace the ambitious project has got along without complications or work injuries. This is why Skanska boring workers received the Zlatý Permon award for work safety from the Czech Mining Office.

The project of section R513, just as the whole future city ring, meets the requirements for the protection of the environment in terms of the construction and the future state of traffic. Earth Mounds, green strips and vegetation adjustments and the construction of three bio bridges and one biocorridor will be a component part of the construction. The construction mostly runs through free agricultural land outside a developed area along the border of Prague 4 city district and partially also along the Central Bohemian Region. The route itself takes into account the requirements to minimize the impact of the road on the towns of Jesenice, Hodkovice, Vestec, Cholupice and Komořany.

The main purpose of the future city ring is to take away the transit traffic from the centre of the metropolis. Thanks to the ring, a lot of problematic sections on existing communications will disappear, e.g. trucks will stop using the old and highly undersized slip road to Barrandov Bridge. The whole ring will be 83 kilometres long and it will interconnect all the motorways and major roads that start in Prague.

Basic data about R 513 :

Name of the construction: Prague city ring, section 513 Vestec – Lahovice

Investor: Road and Motorway Directorate, CR

Contractor: Association Vestec – Lahovice, Skanska DS a.s. (leading, 20 % share), members of Skanska BS a.s. (50 %) and Alpine Mayreder Bau GmbH (30 %)

Developer: Pragoprojekt, a.s., IKP Consulting Engineers, s.r.o., ELTODO a.s.

Start: 2006

End: 2010

Cost: 5.9 milliard CZK



What is construction R 513


Construction 513 is a part of the south western segment of the whole complex of the Prague city ring between the towns of Vestec and Lahovice. The section starts with a connection to the construction 512 D1 – Jesenice – Vestec at an elevated crossing with a perspective route of D3 motorway and and road II/101 at the town of Jesenice and it ends with an extensive elevated crossing Strakonická at the town of Lahovice near the Vltava.

8.34 km long Sectin 513 falls into category R 27,5, which is a label of a four-lane two-way road with an extended middle strip and the planned speed limit of 100 km/h.

It starts with the elevated crossing Strakonická (Lahovice) and continues with the dominant feature of the construction, a 236 m long bridge with three spans over the Vltava and a one track railway route between Vrané nad Vltavou – Praha Vršovice.


Then there is a 70 metre long tunnel and a drilled tunnel section with the total length of 1930 m with two separated tubes, one for each direction and a drop of 120 m. The tunnel exits near the town of Cholupice, where the communication continues cutting through between the town of Písnice on the left and Točná, Dolní Břežany, Hodkovice and Zlatníky on the right. It ends after 6 km at Vestec elevated crossing.

A part of the construction is also a 2.2 kilometre long Vestec feeder road which Conner Písnice crossroad with

Vídeňská Street.

Altogether the construction includes 27 bridge constructions out of which 4 elevated crossings (Jesenice, Písnice, Břežany a Točná), relayings of local communications and underground services, public lifting, traffic signs etc.


The project looks into the details of the impact of the construction on the environment and the designed measures correspond to the strictest environmental requirements. Sections of the road that run near residential areas will be in deep field cutting, which will significantly lower the level of noise in the surroundings. There will also be hundreds of metres of anti noise barriers and clay mounds. Safe migration of animals which abound in that area will be ensured by three biobridges, i.e. fenced grass crossings and one biocorridor. Ventilation shafts in the big tunnels will be equipped with special silencers.

Oskar Exner

Source: Skanska