D1 Motorway from Bratislava toward Trnava to Reopen in Few Hours

      Bratislava, 19 April (TASR) - The D1 motorway from Bratislava toward Trnava will reopen in a few hours, Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) and director of the National Highway Company (NDS) Filip Machacek told a press conference on Sunday.
        The section of the motorway from Bratislava's Zlate piesky area to the Bernolakovo (Bratislava region) interchange has been closed since Friday evening (17 April) due to the work to redirect traffic from temporary diversion lanes to the expanded D1.
        "It's great that after such a long time - during which we had to use temporary narrowed lanes at this D4/D1 intersection when traveling to and from Bratislava - we can finally look forward to a full three-lane section and, in part, a full four-lane section," stated the minister.
        Since last Sunday, 12 April, drivers entering the capital have been using the reconstructed section of the D1 motorway from the Bernolakovo interchange to Bratislava's Zlate piesky area. According to the NDS head, the traffic situation on this very section proves that it was truly worth it. "It was worth it, because even that [last] Monday was completely problem-free, and I'm very happy that the work here makes a difference. It's the busiest motorway in Slovakia, so I think it deserves this look and everything we have here," added Machacek.
        The contractor specified that over the past 40 hours, more than 100 employees and 60 construction machines have been working on the stretch. "Work began with milling the asphalt pavement at the start of the section, where a new asphalt surface with road markings is now in place. As part of this closure, we installed kilometres of horizontal road markings, replaced six traffic sign gantries, and installed a camera system," added Wojciech Wlodzimirski, a representative of contractor Budimex.
        The construction deadline is in July, but motorway officials plan to open the sections gradually.