Blanka Tunnel Complex
On 19 September 2015, the Blanka tunnel complex was officially opened in the Czech capital Prague. At more than 6 kilometres, it is the longest road tunnel in Czechia and the longest city tunnel in Europe. Its construction was one of Prague's largest and most complicated projects ever.
The city ring road, which passes just outside the historical centre of Prague, was designed to handle most of the city's traffic load and to minimise environmental impacts. Construction began in the late 1970s, with 16 kilometres built by 2015. When construction of the the 6.4 kilometre Blanka tunnel complex was wrapped up in September 2015, another important section of the city ring road was opened. It mainly serves to relieve the historic city centre of Prague of heavy traffic.
Construction of the Blanka tunnel complex, which includes the three tunnels: Brusnický, Dejvický and Bubenečský, began in 2006. General contractor METROSTAV a.s. was supplied with ready-mixed concrete from TBG METROSTAV s.r.o. (a joint venture of HeidelbergCement Group). Our plants supplied various types of concrete, with peak volumes reaching 2,666 cubic metres per day. Our total ready-mixed concrete deliveries amounted to 750,000 cubic metres. For concrete production, we received around 300,000 tonnes of cement from Radotin cement plant (Českomoravský cement) and 750,000 tonnes of aggregates from Zálezlice sand pit, a joint venture of Českomoravský štěrk.
The total cost of the Blanka tunnel complex amounted to CZK 37.9 billion (€1.4 billion). Looking back on the first months of use, the benefit of the new tunnel complex is quite obvious: traffic density on the surrounding roads has significantly decreased.
