Phase two of an EU-funded project will complete the construction of a 11.317 km section of the D1 motorway in the Central Slovakia region. The section aims to alleviate traffic congestion in the surrounding urban areas, reduce bottlenecks, and better connect the region with east Slovakia as well as with Poland.
- 24 March 2017
The section is a dual-carriageway four-lane section, which will help to take traffic off smaller urban roads and cut travel time for commuters and residents in the Žilina district.
The current phase II of the project covers completion of the primary and secondary lining of the motorway, bridges and 2 tunnels to enable traffic to move smoothly. The project section will link the D1 section from Vrtižer to Hričovské Podhradie and the D3 section Hričovské Podhradie with eastern parts of Žilina region and east Slovakia.
Core network
The D1 motorway is part of the EU’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), a policy to make it easier to transport goods and passengers within and across the EU. The Rhine-Danube Corridor is designed to connect the central regions around Strasbourg and Frankfurt via Southern Germany to Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and finally the Black Sea, with an important branch from Munich to Prague, Zilina, Kosice and the Ukrainian border.
This improved section of motorway in Slovakia is a strategically important element of this corridor. It will help to increase transport links between Slovakia and Poland, and encourage cross-border trade and movement.
Safer roads
Another key objective of the project has been to increase road safety. Traffic in and around the local cities of Martin and Žilina has dramatically increased over recent years, leading to an increased number of road accidents. The new road will take on the burden of a large portion of transit traffic, and thus relieve the existing I/18 road that runs through the city of Žilina and on towards Martin, which is marked by an increasing number of road accidents.
It is estimated that the construction of the new section will save three lives a year due to an expected decrease in fatalities from road traffic accidents. The estimated decrease in time savings for passenger transport is valued at EUR 154 412 242 in 2024.
Another expected positive impact of the project will be decreased air pollution through a reduction in large particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “D1 Hričovské Podhradie – Lietavská Lúčka, II. fáza” is EUR 407 161 169, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 238 445 350 through the “Integrated Infrastructure” Operational Programme for the 2014 – 2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Road infrastructure”.