D1 motorway to close for papal visit

The primary east-west thoroughfare in the Czech Republic, the D1 motorway, is to be closed for more than 24 hours during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. The Ministry of Transportation said Thursday that during that time, from September 26 to 27, the motorway is to serve as a car park for the more than 2,000 buses expected to bring up to 150,000 people to Brno for the pope’s mass. The ministry is working with police to prepare detours.