THE NATIONAL Highway Company (NDS) put into operation a new section of highway designed to connect Bratislava with Košice on September 14. Construction of the highway stretch between Važec and Mengusovce started about 10 years ago and cost almost Sk5 billion (almost €166 million), the ČTK newswire wrote.
The stretch connecting the villages of Važec and Mengusovce is over 12 kilometres long. The highway stretch includes 21 bridges, the SITA newswire wrote.
Robert Fico’s cabinet has declared the government’s intention to complete the highway connecting Bratislava with the second largest city in the country, Košice, by 2010. This is with the exception of some demanding parts involving tunnels, such as is the case near the towns of Martin and Žilina.
However, Transport Minister Ľubomír Vážny has already admitted that this deadline might be too optimistic.