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Blanka Tunnel Complex is a part of the inner
Prague Municipal Ring Road Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate o ...
. It is the longest road
tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
and the longest city tunnel in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. The complex connects the area west of
Prague Castle Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for king ...
with Trója district in the northeast. Its length is about 5.5 km and consists of three tunnels: ''Bubenečský, Dejvický'' and ''Brusnický''. The tunnel complex was designed to relieve the historic center of Prague from heavy traffic. In a first 49-month period it was used by 139 million cars, according to official statistics.


Controversies

During the construction there were three landfalls, two times in the Stromovka park, which created a hole on the ground of the park, with a diameter of 15 to 25 meters, and once at garden area of the Ministry of Culture in Hradčany. The incident was investigated by the police and damages were estimated at tens of millions of CZK. The construction of the Blanka tunnel was launched back in 2006 by then mayor of Prague
Pavel Bém Pavel Bém (born 18 July 1963) is a Czech physician and politician. Between 28 November 2002 and 30 November 2010 he served as the Mayor of the Capital City of Prague, and re-elected in 2006. On 19 November 2006 he was elected Deputy Leader o ...
, although it was planned since 1993. The tunnel cost tax payers some 43 billion crowns (2015), much more than the originally announced 21.2 billion. However, this price doesn't include all construction costs. Initially due to open in 2011, the biggest and most expensive project in the history of Prague was repeatedly delayed. The tunnel was officially opened to the public on 19 September 2015. The building permit from 2004 set a condition that the tunnel must not be put into full operation, until the north-eastern part of the outer Prague Ring Road is completed. However, this condition has not been met, and as supposed, it will not be completed before 2028. That's why Blanka Tunnel was not officially approved. The authorities circumvented the condition so that the tunnel was opened formally only in trial operation.Kateřina Frouzová
Tunel Blanka pojede ve zkušebním provozu, možná po desetiletí
iDnes.cz, 20. August 2015
In 2019, the condition in the construction permit was cancelled, and the tunnel was finally approved for full operation. The city's leadership, led by Mayor
Pavel Bém Pavel Bém (born 18 July 1963) is a Czech physician and politician. Between 28 November 2002 and 30 November 2010 he served as the Mayor of the Capital City of Prague, and re-elected in 2006. On 19 November 2006 he was elected Deputy Leader o ...
, originally promised that the tunnel would reduce traffic, noise and emissions throughout the area. But according to the environmental association ''AutoMat'', the amount of traffic emissions has increased and continues to exceed health limits. The number of cars on Prague streets has increased by 11% due to
induced demand In economics, induced demand – related to latent demand and generated demandSchneider, Benjamin (September 6, 2018"CityLab University: Induced Demand"''CityLab'' – is the phenomenon whereby an increase in supply results in a decline ...
, and traffic congestion has worsened. Every year, traffic in Blanka tunnel complex produces more than 40 million kilograms of CO2.


Gallery

File:Malovanka křižovatka Praha 2014.JPG, Tunnel exit, the Malovanka junction in Střešovice File:Praha, Bubeneč, Díra ve Stromovce II.jpg, Hole in Stromovka park File:DOD Bubenečský tunel 2014, směr Dejvický tunel.jpg, Bubenečský tunnel File:Tunelový komplex Blanka, Brusnický tunel.jpg, Brusnický tunel


References

{{Authority control Transport in Prague Tunnels in the Czech Republic Road tunnels Tunnels completed in 2015 2015 establishments in the Czech Republic