Work on the 15km stretch of road – effectively a bypass for the town of Ruzomberok –was started in 2013. But a major landslide in 2015 halted work, pushing back completion from 2017 to 2022 at the latest estimate.
Slovakian media report that the cost of the project has grown from €227 million in 2013 to nearly €289 million. Construction is being carried out by the consortium Cebrat, comprising Vahostav-Sk and the Czech firm OHL ZS.
This project will connect the D1 Turany-Hubová highway on the west side and the D1 Ivachnova-Hybe section on the east side. Therefore, this project is key to the overall completion of a complete D1 motorway.
The 515km cross-country D1 connects the capital Bratislava, along the Danube River close the country’s western border with the Czech Republic, and in the eastern city of Košice. An extension is proposed from Košice to Michalovce, further east and closer to Slovakia’s eastern border with the Ukraine.
With the exceptions of sections in Bratislava, a vignette is required to use the motorway which also forms part of the European routes: E50, E58, E75 and E571.
Slovakia’s national motorway company 5891 NDS has confirmed the D1 motorway between Hubova and Ivachnova is on schedule to be completed by mid-2022.
