The D3 motorway () is a

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Once completed, the motorway will connect

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

with the Austrian '' Mühlviertel Expressway'' (S10) to

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

. As of December 2024, only the middle section () of the motorway is in operation; namely a section from Mezno to Kaplice-nádraží. A further from Kaplice-nádraží to Czech Republic–

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

border is currently under construction. The D3 motorway is part of the

European route E55 European route E55 is an E-route. It starts in southern Sweden, crosses the Øresund strait to Denmark, and passes through more water (the western Baltic Sea) to reach continental Europe on Rostock, Germany. Thence it continues further southwar ...

. The D3 motorway in the

South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region () is an administrative unit (''Regions of the Czech Republic, kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western ...

towards the Austrian border should be completed by 2026. Completion of D3 in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...

is planned by 2028, however its designed course through the Lower Sázava landscape is still objected and opposed by environmental and citizens associations. A nationwide trial of variable speeds of up to 150 km/h will begin on the D3 between

Tábor Tábor (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populated town in the region. The town was founded by the Hussites in 1420. The historic town centre is well pres ...

and

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

in summer of 2025, with factors such as weather conditions and traffic density influencing the maximum speed allowed.

Chronology

The construction of the motorway has been planned since 1987. In 1988, the D3 was started with the construction of the

bypass, which, however, was not designated as a motorway. By Government Resolution No. 741 of July 1999, it was included in the motorway network. In October 2004, the first long section Chotoviny–Čekanice was put into operation. The Mezno–Chotoviny section was under construction since 2005 and was put into operation on 17 December 2007. In 2008, the construction of the long section Tábor–

Veselí nad Lužnicí Veselí nad Lužnicí (; ) is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,500 inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Lužnice and Nežárka rivers. Administrative division Veselí nad Luž ...

was started, which was put into operation on 28 June 2013. At the same time, sections from the 1980s and 1990s between Stoklasná Lhota and Měšice were reconstructed. The Tábor bypass was then redesignated as a motorway, leaving a short 400 metre section undesignated until 2024. A section from Dolní Třebonín to the border with Austria on the other side of the future S10 expressway was initially planned to be built as an expressway () as well, however on 31 December 2015, the category of expressways (R) was abolished in the Czech Republic, so since then, it is now counted as part of the D3 motorway. On 7 April 2017, the section on the Veselí nad Lužnicí– Bošilec section was opened, which was completed from a half profile to a full motorway profile. The cost of this construction was CZK 635 million (excluding VAT). The opening ceremonies of these two sections cost the Regional Directorate of Transport a total of

CZK The koruna, or crown (currency sign, sign: Kč; ISO 4217, code: CZK, ), has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's eight currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to Czech Repub ...

420,000, for which it was criticised. A section near

was opened on 27 September 2017. The construction of this section cost CZK 720 million (excluding VAT) with cost mounting for construction of the

grade-separated In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights ( grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tr ...

ring intersection. In June 2024, ŘSD managed to start the completion of about 400 metres of the right-hand lane of the D3 motorway on the

bypass, after obtaining a valid construction permit. Traffic there had been restricted due to a quarter-century-long dispute with the access to the motorway. The section became fully operational in August 2024. On 21 December 2024,

bypass (from Úsilný to Kaplice-Nádraží) was put into operation, marking the first time of motorway opened in the Czech Republic in one calendar year.

Future development

The long section Kaplice-nádraží – Nažidla is under construction since June 2024, and is planned to open in 2026. The section between Nažidla and the state border with

is in construction since January 2024, and planned for opening in 2026.https://apdos.roadmedia.cz/Upload/Stavby/46/infoletak_d3-nazidla-dolni-dvoriste.pdf?t=2024-01-09%2012:13:38.877 The northern segments between

and Mezno; at a total length of around are planned to start construction in 2027, and planned to be put into operation by 2031.

Route description

Gallery

File:Planá nad Lužnicí, zatáčka.jpg, D3 motorway near Planá nad Lužnicí

References

Content in this edit is translated from the existing Czech Wikipedia article at :cs:Dálnice D3; see its history for attribution. {{Authority control D03 Proposed roads in the Czech Republic