D8 motorway ( cs, Dálnice D8) is a highway in the

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

North Bohemia North Bohemia ( cs, Severní Čechy, german: Nordböhmen) is a region in the north of the Czech Republic. Location North Bohemia roughly covers the present-day NUTS regional unit of ''CZ04 Severozápad'' and the western part of ''CZ05 Severovýc ...

n region of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It connects

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

through

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (, , ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of its eponymous region and district. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway ju ...

with the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

border at Petrovice and the

Bundesautobahn 17 is an autobahn in Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It links Dresden to the Czech border where the D8 continues to Prague. The road is a fairly new contribution to the German autobahn network. Construction began in 1998, with the first stretch open ...

Bad Gottleuba Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being *Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored trolley ...

, leading to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. It forms part of the major

European route E55 European route E55 is an E-route. It passes through the following cities: Helsingborg … Helsingør – Copenhagen – Køge – Vordingborg – Nykøbing Falster – Gedser … Rostock – Berlin – Lübbenau – Dresden – Teplice – Prag ...

and the

Pan-European Corridor IV The Corridor IV is one of the Pan-European transport corridors. It runs between Dresden/Nuremberg in Germany and Thessaloniki (Greece) / Constanța (Romania) / Istanbul (Turkey). The corridor follows the route: Dresden / Nuremberg – Prag ...

Segments

The first sections of the highway running from the Prague Ring to the

Lovosice Lovosice (; german: Lobositz) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,600 inhabitants. It is an industrial town. Geography Lovosice is located about southwest of Litoměřice and ...

junction were opened between 1990 and 2000; the northwestern segment leading from Ústí nad Labem to the German border was completed on 21 December 2006, including the longest tunnel in the Czech Republic, the long Panenská tunnel. Another long section from Ústí nad Labem to Řehlovice was opened in 1988 in the course of the construction of the R63 expressway. Works on remaining long segment between Řehlovice and Lovosice were delayed for several years due to numerous protests and appeals by the Děti Země environmental movement against the route taken through the

České Středohoří The České středohoří – Central Bohemian Uplands or Central Bohemian Highlandse.g. ''The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 31'', Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998, p. 371 – is a mountain range located in northern Bohemia in the Czech Repub ...

mountain range, a protected landscape area and

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. From the beginning, the project has been also criticized by some geologists, and lately by the National

Financial Audit A financial audit is conducted to provide an opinion whether "financial statements" (the information is verified to the extent of reasonable assurance granted) are stated in accordance with specified criteria. Normally, the criteria are internat ...

Office for large

cost overrun A cost overrun, also known as a cost increase or budget overrun, involves unexpected incurred costs. When these costs are in excess of budgeted amounts due to a value engineering underestimation of the actual cost during budgeting, they are known ...

. In 2013, a major landslide buried part of the under-construction highway. Construction work nevertheless continued and the last part of highway was opened in December 2016 albeit with traffic restrictions between Lovosice and Řehlovice. The restrictions caused by unstable geology; reduced traffic to one lane each on a section. A solution is to reinforce the section with grout which cost 220 million Kč (8.43 million €). The traffic restrictions between Lovosice and Řehlovice were removed on 20 September 2017 following the stabilization of the roadway.

Images

File:D8 CZ lávka Kočičí oči.jpg, Motorway D8, foot bridge Kočičí oči (Cat Eyes). File:Emergency stopping lane on D8 near Petrovice, Czech Republic-6316.jpg, Emergency stopping lane on D8 near Petrovice. File:Kapelle trmice-kostov - cz.jpg, Small chapel "Virgin Mary" (1820) in Trmice-Koštov under D8 motorway. File:D8 CZ, Tunel Panenská.jpg, Panenská tunnel (). File:Krásný Les, dálnice D8, k Panenské (01).jpg, Motorway D8, Krásný Les

References

External links

Information on dalnice-silnice.cz

Information on motorway.cz
{{Authority control D08