TE10 – The D6 motorway:

Nové Strašecí – Karlovy Vary – Sokolov – BMW research centre and proving ground, Sokolov

Date: 5 October 2023, 8:00–17:30

The D6 motorway connects Prague with Karlovy Vary before continuing on via Cheb to Germany. A section connecting to Nové Strašecí was opened in 1985, and in the 1990s the remaining sections in the Prague direction were completed. The 9.7 km continuation of the route west from Nové Strašecí to Řevničov has been in service since December 2020. Construction of three connecting sections as far as Hořovice, totalling 21 km in length, began in 2022 and will be completed in 2024 – 2025. On the first of these, near Krupá, the motorway runs along an 805 m elevated roadway. On the western side of the route, a 4 km section from Lubenec to Bošov was opened ahead of schedule in 2015, and in 2021 the five-kilometre Lubenec bypass was also opened, which connects to it from the east. All of the remaining sections from Hořovičky to Karlovy Vary are scheduled for commencement in 2023 – 2024 and operation in 2026 – 2027.

The stretch running through the city of Karlovy Vary was built as a four-lane dual carriageway in 1980 – 1993, and is not classified as a motorway. In 2007, its unsatisfactory western part was replaced by a new motorway section with three large bridges. Several other major bridges were also built on the subsequent sections Jenišov – Nové Sedlo – Sokolov – Tisová – Kamenný Dvůr, which were opened in 2010 – 11 to connect with the already operational Kamenný Dvůr – Cheb sections. One of the significant construction projects here was the expansion of the originally two-lane arch bridge over the Ohře (Eger) River to a four-lane profile but with reduced lane width

Tour programme:

Coach 1 – A

08.00–09.00    Transfer from the Prague Congress Centre to Nové Strašecí – start of the tour

09.00–13.00    Tour of the D6 motorway – commentary in a suitable meeting room depending on the options available along the route, with stops likely at the flyover site near Krupá, at the Lubenec bypass, and at the viewing point of the arched bridge over the Ohře River; conclusion of the tour of the D6 motorway

13.00–13.30    Transfer to the BMW Group Future Mobility Development Center

13.30–15.30    Tour of the BMW Group Future Mobility Development Center

15.30–18.00    Transfer from the BMW Group Future Mobility Development Center to the Prague Congress Centre with one stop along the route

Coach 2 – F+S

08.00–10.30    Transfer from the Prague Congress Centre to the BMW Group Future Mobility Development Center near Sokolov, with one stop along the route

10.30–12.30    Tour of the BMW Group Future Mobility Development Center

12.30–13.00    Transfer from the BMW Group Future Mobility Development Center to a point commanding a good view of the arched bridge over the Ohře River – start of the tour

13.00–17.00    Tour of the D6 motorway – commentary in a suitable meeting room depending on the options available along the route, subsequent stops likely at the Lubenec bypass and at the flyover site near Krupá; arrival in Nové Strašecí and conclusion of the D6 tour

17.00–18.00    Transfer from Nové Strašecí to the Prague Congress Centre