Motorway connects Prague and Ostrava

Two new sections of the D1 motorway opened on Wednesday, connecting the city of Ostrava, in north Moravia, with the Czech capital. The construction of the new 12- and 18 -km-long stretches cost 7.6 billion crowns, or more than 440 million US dollars, the Czech road authority said. The completion of the two motorway sections is expected to improve the overall traffic situation in the region. The final section of the motorway, leading up to the Polish border, should be completed by 2012.

Just hours before the new sections opened, an Indian national crashed his car after driving onto the new road. He drove through a large tent put up for Wednesday’s official opening, and ended up in the ditch. No one was hurt in the accident, the news agency ČTK reported.

Author: Jan Richter