Preparations for the construction of the missing section of the D3 motorway, which will connect Prague and České Budějovice, can now proceed. The Supreme Administrative Court has dismissed a cassation appeal against an exemption related to the protection of specially protected animal species. This pertains to the 16.5-kilometre section between Voračice and Nová Hospoda.
According to Jiří Veselý, spokesperson for the Central Bohemian Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD), this marks a significant step forward. “The court has confirmed the decision of the Pilsen District Court, which had previously dismissed complaints from citizens’ associations challenging the granted exemption for the protection of nature and the landscape last autumn,” Veselý told novinky.cz.
The expansion of the D3 is a top priority for the Ministry of Transport and the ŘSD. The entire section between the Prague Ring Road and the South Bohemian part of the motorway is still incomplete. The D3 is expected to significantly reduce traffic congestion on the heavily burdened I/3 road near Benešov, where traffic jams occur almost daily.
With this ruling, the approval process can continue in full. Experts have already developed measures to minimise the environmental impact during the motorway’s construction and operation. “We have discussed these compensation measures in numerous public meetings with residents of the affected regions,” said Jan Rýdl, spokesperson for the ŘSD.
Construction on the Voračice-Nová Hospoda section is set to begin at the end of 2027 and is expected to take about four years. The estimated construction cost is CZK 7.64 billion. In total, the Central Bohemian section of the D3, stretching over 60 kilometres, should be completed by 2031. A large portion of the route will run underground and includes seven tunnels spanning nearly seven kilometres. The estimated total cost of this section is CZK 56.4 billion.
