Reconstruction will reduce traffic throughout Prague, says Zdeněk Lokaj – eXtra.cz
This year, after ten years, Prague will begin the repair of the Barrandov Bridge. It will be limited from eight lanes to six from May, and although it will still be passable, columns can be expected to form. And not only in the area of reconstructed construction. “Restrictions will definitely affect traffic throughout Prague,” says Zdeněk Lokaj from the CTU Faculty of Transportation. In an extensive interview for eXtra.cz, he revealed which sections will be the busiest, and at the same time offered detour routes. In addition, he also revealed whether reconstruction is needed.
Barrandov Bridge is one of the busiest places to cross the Vltava in Prague. How big a complication will its reconstruction be?
It is the largest connection and the most capacity bridge over the Vltava, about 140,000 vehicles cross it every day, so the restrictions will definitely affect traffic throughout Prague. The biggest complications can be expected at rush hour, ie in the morning and afternoon. The bridge will be passable, but the moment we limit traffic from eight lanes to six, columns will begin to form on the access routes.
Which places will be most affected by the columns?
There will definitely be a delay at the South Junction, in Strakonická Street and Modřanská Street. We can also expect columns that go from K Barrandovu Street and are likely to be affected by tunnels within the city ring road, because the Barrandov Bridge is part of the city ring road as a key artery. Not only local drivers go there, but also transit ones. There can be a big problem in the tunnels, which can end in Troja, because the columns will be chained. We must also not forget that the route to the airport leads across the circuit.
Is it possible to estimate how much delay the drivers will take when crossing the bridge?
At the moment, it’s crystal ball divination. Much will depend on how many drivers change their minds. The question is, in the first weeks, what complications will arise with the fact that signal plans will have to be tuned in on arrivals, for example as at the crossroads on Modřanská. Other measures will also be addressed with regard to which detours the drivers will actually choose in the end. It will therefore be necessary to monitor what the situation around the bridge looks like and whether any inhabited area is disproportionately affected.
Which detour would you recommend to drivers?
Certainly one of the most reliable routes will be the ring road around Prague. This means using the Mirošovice-Rudná section, which is capacitive. However, it may happen that this route will be used by a large number of drivers and there will be convoys there as well. Unfortunately, this is probably one of the most sensible ways to bypass, because in the vicinity of the Barrandov Bridge there is a Peace Race bridge on one side, which definitely does not have such a capacity, and on the other hand we can talk about the Palacky Bridge. However, it usually stands there at peak times when the Barrandov Bridge is limited.
Will the closure of the lanes on the Barrandov Bridge affect public transport?
Trams would not have to be affected, especially in places where traffic is separate. A slight impact can be expected in Podolí under the Vyšehrad tunnel, where public transport concerns passenger cars. Bus traffic will be partially affected, especially the one that will run over the Barrandov Bridge in Smíchov. I think that the transport company will also consider detours. The problem, however, is that you will not find such a capacity detour in Prague.
Wouldn’t traffic around the Barrandov Bridge cancel the bus lanes?
In general, public transport is and should be preferred everywhere in Prague at the expense of individual transport, precisely because people should choose public transport. However, they will only use it if it is reliable, clean and at the main price. It is the reliability that is affected by the bus lanes. So I wouldn’t disturb the stripes.
How big of a complication can they expect when an accident occurs on a bridge?
It will be a big problem, it will depend on how long there is an accident. According to my information, there should be a towing vehicle on both banks of the Vltava in order to quickly hit and clear the road, because the moment the traffic flow becomes blocked, a so-called shock wave propagates. If the bridge is a limited accident for a long time, we are talking about an hour, for example, then there will be columns in both directions and they can reach the highway.
If it was an even bigger complication, we can expect the column in Štěrboholy or Černý Most. It would be such a collapse of Prague that perhaps it will not happen. But let’s face it, some of the situations that arise will be quite complicated.
Was it possible to prevent the reconstruction from being such a big problem?
One way to prevent this effectively was to complete the city circuit. In a moment if that were the case and we had the finished section from Troja to Štěrbohol, then we would be able to bridge this area by just heading and bridging traffic. Since we have not completed this key construction, the Barrandov Bridge is an absolutely crucial junction and the moment you limit it, it will affect traffic throughout Prague.
Was it possible to avoid problems with expansion in Strakonická or Radlická streets?
Unfortunately, it is too late for such considerations. Strakonická is now expanding with a bus lane, which was even scheduled to open in the near future. As for Radlická, there is a huge pain that the Radlická radial is not made to take traffic from Radlická. Office space and other buildings are growing in its vicinity, and a person stands there for about 30 minutes before getting to the waterfront or tunnel. This testifies to one of the big problems in Prague, which is the fact that we are not building. We do not have a completed key infrastructure, we do not have a completed circuit or built radials that take vehicles from the center away from Prague.
Why is Prague not building?
The slow construction of key transport structures has several causes. We must mention the very long construction procedures and permitting processes that prolong key constructions. Another fundamental problem, however, is the influence of politics on the development of transport infrastructure, where there is no political consensus between political rivals that would last for a long time, regardless of who is currently ruling in Prague.
Unfortunately, the problem of transport projects is their length, which significantly exceeds one election period, and if the management changes, the projects started to stop or change, then the whole process will slow down considerably. Transport must always be dealt with pragmatically and must never become a politician, otherwise we will not move too long in the long run. Simply put, if we do not build, we will leave the train soon, other European capitals will overtake us and they will be more interesting for potential investors.
Many critics say that the repair is most taking place at a time when the whole of Prague has been dug up. So is it reasonable to reconstruct right now?
The question is whether the city had a choice at all. We have been talking about reconstruction for ten years, during which we heard from politicians and especially experts that the Barrandov Bridge would have to be repaired. It was only a matter of time before he would have to bite into that sour apple. We have reached a stage where repairs are constantly being postponed and, in essence, councilors have been faced with the decision that they will either repair the most now or wait. But they would risk having a statics and saying that it is not most operational within half a year, and they would shut it down. It was Sofia’s choice and I definitely do not envy the current Prague leadership for this unpopular move. Let’s admit, however, that the postponement of the postponement simply did not go well.
The repair of the bridge will take four years and the passage restrictions will be divided into several stages with the summer months. How do you rate this step?
I have seen the stages, I have had the opportunity to get to know them and it seems to me to be a sensible way to make traffic affected, especially in the summer months, when the workload is significantly lower. A lot of people leave outside Prague. If we limited the bridge to two whole years, then the impact on traffic in Prague would be much greater.
In similar giant projects, it is common for the construction or renovation process to take a long time. It is worth mentioning, for example, the Blanka tunnel or the D1 repair. Do you expect similar delays?
Unfortunately, I can’t guess that. On the other hand, one of the main parameters of the tender, which was emphasized, was the speed of the repair. I assume that Prague has contractually maintained any extension of the implementation of the corresponding fines, which will probably be significant. I am glad that the time of the repair was taken into account the most and that Prague is finally doing this, because time is important. In the end, there is a lot more when the construction is a bit more expensive, but again it is finished sooner, because if we calculate how much money people stand in columns, so to speak, it is billions a year.
Prague councilors talk about the reconstruction of the Barrandov Bridge as a building of the century. Do you agree with them, or is it just a flying phrase?
I take it as a political cliché. It is, of course, a fundamental construction or reconstruction, which has an absolutely fundamental effect on transport in Prague. Every transport construction that is being reconstructed and has some influence is essential for Prague, such as the Blanka tunnel, which diverts 100,000 vehicles a day from Letná and its surroundings. I would not call it a building of the century, but rather a reconstruction that will affect the whole of Prague.
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