The modernization of the D1 motorway between Prague and Brno was supposed to be completed in 2021, but the pandemic could make this deadline impossible. Work is underway on 70 km of the road, but a myriad of problems is slowing things down. Contractors complain that their foreign laborers hurried across the borders before they slammed shut, or else that finding accommodations and protective equipment for the Czech staff was suddenly problematic. Eurovia had to halt work for two weeks to reorganize its project and find new workers, procure protective gear and disinfectants, and establish a new system for feeding and housing their staff. “The problem is also the physical and psychological exhaustion of our people who stayed on the job despite the complicated situation,” said Metrostav’s spokesman Vojtěch Kostiha. The fight against the pandemic will definitely have on the planned timeline for completing work on the D1.”
