Dolezal: Completion of D1 Stretch of Ivachnova-Hubova to be Delayed

Ruzomberok, August 7 (TASR) – The completion of the construction of Ivachnova-Hubova D1 road stretch will likely fall behind schedule, Minister of Transport and Construction Andrej Dolezal (We Are Family nominee) announced after his tour of the construction site on Friday.

The original plan was to have the section in the Zilina region done by June 2022 or even the end of 2022. “That might be too ambitious at this stage. Also in light of the fact that the contractor still hasn’t obtained building permits. Therefore, we’ll rather be talking about 2023 now,” stated Dolezal.

Most of the bridges are complete, yet two areas remain problematic. “We need to finish the tunnel [Cebrat] – the western portal – and the parts currently unsafe due to the danger of landslides. These are objective reasons [for rescheduling],” said the minister, adding that together with the National Highway Company ways will be sought to speed up the works.

The construction of Hubova-Ivachnova stretch began in 2013 by a consortium of OHL ZS and Vahostav-SK. Works had to be suspended during the excavation of the Cebrat tunnel due to the high risk of landslides. The D1 stretch is designed to bypass the town of Ruzomberok in Zilina region and connect to the existing highway to Kosice.