D8 motorway (Czech Republic)

D8 Motorway
Dálnice D8
Route information
Part of
Length:	75 km (47 mi) Planned: 92 km (57 mi)
Major junctions
From:	R8 near Zdiby
	R1 near Zdiby R63 near Řehlovice
To:	A17 border with Germany
Location
Regions:	Praha, Central Bohemian, Ústí nad Labem
Major cities:	Praha, Ústí nad Labem
Highway system
Highways in the Czech Republic Motorways • Expressways

D8 motorway (Czech: Dálnice D8) is a highway in the middle and northwestern Bohemian region of the Czech Republic. When completed it will, from Prague, pass through Ústí nad Labem, reaching the German border at Petrovice and the Bundesautobahn 17 at Bad Gottleuba leading to Dresden. It forms part of the major European route E55.

Lovosice junction (45km from the start of the motorway)

The first sections of the highway running 45 km (28 mi) from the Prague Ring to the Lovosice junction were opened between 1990 and 2000; the northwestern segment leading 23 km (14 mi) from Ústí nad Labem to the German border was completed on 21 December 2006^[1], including the longest tunnel in the Czech Republic, the 2,058 m (6,752 ft) long Panenská tunnel. Another 5 km (3.1 mi) long section from Ústí nad Labem to Řehlovice had already opened in 1988 in the course of the construction of the R63 expressway.

The remaining 16 km (9.9 mi) long segment between Řehlovice and Lovosice is currently under construction. Works were delayed due to numerous protests led by the Děti Země environmental movement against the route taken through the České Středohoří mountain range, a protected landscape area and nature reserve. The project is also criticized by the National Financial Audit Office for large cost overrun.

References

1. ^ Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic

External links

• (Czech) Information on dalnice-silnice.cz
• Information on motorway.cz