Transit traffic in the direction of the Czech border should bypass the Slovak capital via a tunnel that will run under the Little Carpathians. It will be Slovakia’s longest tunnel, measuring 11.8 kilometers long, and will cost one billion euros (approximately CZK 24 billion).
The Carpathian Tunnel will connect to the D4 motorway near Rača and link it with the D2 motorway near Stupava, west of Bratislava.
However, critics say that the tunnel will not improve the traffic situation in Bratislava because transit from the D2 motorway is mainly directed to Hungary and Austria, so the new tunnel will not be used in most cases.
Residents of Bratislava’s Záhorská Bystrica district and the village of Marianka fear increased noise and are not appeased by the promise of a 600-meter-long noise wall.
“We perceive several problems and risks. These are mainly the logistics of construction, high traffic loads, and noise,” says the mayor of Záhorská Bystrica, Jozef Krúpa.
The Slovak Ministry of Transport is not yet willing to talk about the construction start and completion dates. “It is premature to talk about specific dates at the moment,” the ministry said.
The Bubeneč tunnel is the longest road tunnel in the Czech Republic, with 3,091 meters. The tunnel is part of the Blanka tunnel complex (5502 meters).