Over the weekend, thousands of people in Brno didn’t miss the opportunity to walk on the newly-built estacade on the city’s large ring road. The construction is part of a project costing almost two and a half billion Czech koruna and spans over half a kilometer.
Not only did the walk offer a chance for visitors to view the estacade’s unique construction up close, but it also provided a rare view of Brno from above. The road is located over eighteen meters above the ground, and once the construction is completed in a year’s time, the only way to access it will be by car.
The section of the ring road being built will cross Tomkovo Square, the Svitava River, and a railway track. Tomkovo Square has been one of the many bottleneck areas in Brno for years, where traffic slows down significantly.
Currently, workers are laying tram tracks on Tomkovo Square and then constructing a bridge over the road. Meanwhile, the estacade will be connected to Rokytova Street on the other side. One branch will remain closed until a tunnel to Vinohrady is built.
In sunny weather, crowds walked on the estacade, which offered a unique view of the construction and Brno from a height.
“In the next year, the construction of an exploration tunnel will begin, provided by the Road and Motorway Directorate, and will find out what the substrate is,” said project manager Radka Matuszkova. The tunnel will run from a senior citizen’s home on Vestonická Street towards Akátky and will take about two years to complete.
Alongside the Tomkovo Square phase, the currently built parts of the large ring road, Žabovřeská, and Bauerova, are expected to be fully operational at the end of next year.
With the construction of the estacade, Brno has a new landmark that offers a unique experience for visitors, with a view of the city that few have ever seen.