Repairs on Rotocká and Kamýcká in Prague to finish ahead of schedule — by September 6

The reconstruction of the sewage pumping station on Rotocká Street in Prague, which has seen traffic there cut from four lanes to two since late June, will be completed ahead of the originally announced deadline. At the insistence of the district authorities of Prague 6, Prague-Suchdol and the town of Roztoky, the contractor will restore full traffic flow on both streets no later than September 6 — instead of the previously stated September 27.

The work was originally supposed to be finished before the end of August, but the contractor announced a delay of nearly a month. This provoked sharp outrage among the municipalities, which warned of the risk of traffic gridlock right at the start of the school year, when road congestion typically surges.

Work will continue, but later

The agreement covers only the main phase of the reconstruction — the pumping station itself on Rotocká will not be fully completed by September 6. The contractor, together with the project designer, is now working out how to carry out the remaining work by the end of the year with minimal impact on traffic. The municipalities' key demand is to guarantee absolute priority for public transport in the dedicated lane and to shift any remaining restrictions to the autumn school holidays, when traffic volume is lower.

City authorities' position

"Together with Prague-Suchdol and the town of Roztoky, we managed to persuade the city hall to significantly move up and shorten the closure period — full traffic on Kamýcká and Rotocká streets will be restored no later than September 6. Unfortunately, this won't mark the end of the station's reconstruction, and the street is expected to be dug up again," said Ondřej Matěj Hrubeš (ODS), Prague 6's transport councillor.

According to him, for any subsequent stages of work requiring traffic restrictions on Rotocká, the authorities will insist that they be carried out specifically during school holidays, when road traffic is lighter, and with mandatory measures giving priority to public transport. Experience from previous closures and data on delays to Prague public transport services show, the councillor stressed, that large-scale restrictions during the busiest autumn months are unacceptable.

The authorities of Prague 6, Suchdol and Roztoky insist that inefficient planning of construction work should not paralyze the public and private transport of the thousands of people who use these streets every day. The public will be informed of specific measures for the autumn holiday period as soon as the details have been worked out.

Source: prazskypatriot.cz