In January of this year, the ceremonial groundbreaking took place for the construction section of the D3 highway from Nažidla to Dolní Dvořiště, built by SWIETELSKY stavební. With the completion of its southernmost section, the Czech D3 will soon connect at the state border near Wullowitz to Upper Austria – as part of the European route E55, which connects Northern and Southern Europe from Sweden to Greece.
Although the construction section of the D3 from Nažidla to Dolní Dvořiště in South Bohemia is "only" 3.5 kilometers long, it plays a key role as the last section to the Austrian border. With the planned commissioning of the section in 2026, the Czech "Dálnice 3" leading from Prague to the south will directly connect to the Mühlviertler expressway S10 and from there to the A7 towards Linz. This will make the D3 part of one of the most important North-South transit routes in Europe: the European route E55, which spans over 3305 kilometers from Helsingborg in Sweden to Kalamata in Greece.
The new section from Nažidla to Dolní Dvořiště, realized with an investment of around 35 million euros, will replace the heavily trafficked two-lane road I/3. This road no longer meets the current and future demands of cross-border North-South road traffic. Therefore, as part of the construction measures, a section of the existing road will be integrated, expanded by one lane, and brought up to the latest road construction standards. Additionally, the entire construction project includes three bridge constructions, a large at-grade intersection instead of the previous junction to Vyšší Brod, and the construction of a 1.5-kilometer noise barrier.
With the traditional tapping on the cornerstone, the ceremonial groundbreaking and the start of the expansion took place on January 9 of this year: "In the first weeks, we mainly carried out the disposal of topsoil, followed by earthworks and network installation. With the arrival of spring, we have now started the expansion of the bridge structures," describes Pavel Fišar, construction manager of SWIETELSKY stavební, the progress of the construction measures, which has proceeded according to plan so far – with the exception of a small but much more exciting surprise.
During the earthworks, explosive historical artifacts were discovered, which were carefully recovered under expert archaeological supervision: handguns and ammunition from disarmed German troops from the last days of World War II. While the ammunition was disposed of by a special defusing service, the weapons will find a place in a museum – as a reminder of a dark era at this now much more promising location.
