R4 Expressway (Czech Republic)

D4 motorway (), until 31 December 2015 formerly Expressway R4 () is a motorway running from Prague in the Czech Republic, in a southwesterly direction. Some of the sections are managed through the PPP project called ''Via Salis'' (Salt Road). A total of is in operation.

The route roughly follows the route of the historic Golden Trail and the I/4 road, which connects Prague and the western half of the South Bohemian Region. The highway starts at the exit from the I/4 Jíloviště road, because the section between Prague and Jíloviště, although it is four-lane, lacks an accompanying road, and therefore this section cannot be classified as a highway and tolled.

A vignette is therefore required only further south of Jíloviště, and along the entire route of the highway. On the second newest section between Mirotici and Třebkovo, the D4 highway is still free of tolls. The freeway ends at an interchange with I/20, from where the road continues to České Budějovice.

Chronology

The D4 motorway was built away from Prague, and drivers could drive on the first section in 1971. At that time, it was a relatively short stretch of road connecting Jíloviště and the outskirts of Řitka. The subsequent bypass of Řitka, which greatly relieved the village and cut through the surrounding fields, opened in 1978. Several other sections opened before 1989, before the D4 reached a total length of reaching the junction at Skalka near Příbram.

21st century

In 2005, the construction of an approximately 800 m long section with an off-grade junction with the I/20 Nová Hospoda u Třebkov road was started, and the section was put into operation on 19 November 2007. The long northbound section of the D4 motorway between Mirotice and Třebkov began construction in 2008, and was inaugurated on 16 September 2010, opening to the public a day later.

On 4 October 2017, the long section between Skalka and the junction with the II/118 road was opened as a bypass of the village of Dubenec. The construction permit for it was issued in 2012 and, after the preparation of detailed documentation, construction started in April 2015. The total price, excluding VAT, according to the contract was CZK 417.5 million. The contractor was Skanska, the total area of the road surface is 104,500 m².

Public private partnership (PPP)

At the turn of 2015 and 2016, information emerged that the missing sections between the I/118 road and Mirotice could be completed in the form of a PPP project.

The first tender for PPP consultants was cancelled by the Office for the Protection of Competition, while the second tender in 2017 selected a consortium of White&Case, Česká spořitelna and Obermeyer Helika. By the end of 2018, seven companies had applied for the completion, from which the MoD selected four. The construction received the EIA green stamp in November 2018, at which time the last plots of land were also being purchased. Construction of all sections at once in PPP form began in 2021. In February, after the Chamber of Deputies approved the contract, the government concluded a contract for the construction and maintenance of the D4 motorway with the French consortium ''DIVia'' (Vinci Group and Meridiam Investments). The construction of the motorway was provided by the construction company Eurovia. The construction started on 7 June 2021, and was completed in December 2024.

The PPP sections opened in December 2024 were as follows:

* Háje – Milín at a total length of .
* Milín - Lety at a total length of .
* Lety - ÄŒimelice at a total length of .
* ÄŒimelice - Mirotice at a total length of .
* Widening at the Mirotice section at a total length of .

DIVia D4, s.r.o. was renamed ViaSalis, s.r.o. The latter took control of the completed sections (Skalka - Háje and Mirotice - Krašovice, including the section of the I/20 road) on 1 July 2021. The parts of the D4 motorway and the I/20 road that fall under this project were designated as ''Via Salis''. The name literally means Salt Road.

PPP construction is said to be more advantageous in that the construction itself is faster. Eurovia's largest Czech financial partner is the bank ÄŒSOB, which is financing about 45 percent of the investment funds. The winning company will manage the D4 motorway for the next 28 years after completion.

Future development

The first of the D4 near Prague is designated as an I/4 road, and not as a motorway. Reconstruction of this section is planned for after 2025.

Exit list

Gallery

File: R4 near Voznice (1).jpg , Motorway D4 near Voznice.
File: Dl.Lhota - rychlostní silnice R4.JPG , Motorway D4 near Dlouhá Lhota.
File: R4-Mnisek.jpg , Motorway D4 near Mníšek pod Brdy.
File: Voznice, rychlostní silnice R4.JPG, Section near Voznice, in 2009 still as R4
File: R4_předotice.jpg, Section near Předotice in 2004

External links

motorway.cz
(English)


(Czech only)

References

Content in this edit is translated from the existing Czech Wikipedia article at :cs:Dálnice D4; see its history for attribution.

{{Authority control

R04
Proposed roads in the Czech Republic