The quality of life in the towns of Slany and Velvary is set to improve as of today, following the opening of a 13 kilometer bypass that will be used by tens of thousands of cars and trucks. Until yesterday, vehicles travelling along highway I/16 clogged the streets of the two towns. But the highway’s route has now been shifted north, following the completion of CZK 750 million worth of construction. The new road wasn’t expected to open until November, but paradoxically, the pandemic crisis meant that far more construction workers than usual were available. Work on the road began at the end of 2017, but archaeological investigations along a third of the route took over a year to complete. Another section of the old highway is also being replaced with a new road that will enable traffic to avoid the villages of Zizice, Lunik and Jesin.
