As construction closures snarl Prague traffic, a digital tool offers clarity

Construction projects across the Czech capital are causing major traffic disruptions, but a new digital map aims to help coordinate the various infrastructure work.

“There is currently a lot of construction going on in Prague, which is a clear sign that the city is modernizing and moving forward,” said Zdeněk Hřib, Prague’s deputy mayor for transportation. “Unfortunately, no one has yet figured out how to develop the city without closures.”

While the city’s Technical Administration of Communications regularly discusses planned closures with districts, other entities like utilities and private developers also need to shut down roads for their projects, Hřib said. This lack of coordination has exacerbated congestion.

To address the issue, the city is developing a digital map that will consolidate information on all upcoming construction work across Prague, said Petr Hlaváček, deputy mayor for territorial and strategic development.

“It is about efficient work with data and a way to better connect city data to coordinate closure activities and burden traffic with new interventions as little as possible,” Hlaváček said.

The map will initially include data from Prague districts and their organizations, with plans to later integrate information from the Central Bohemian Region as well, according to Ondřej Boháč, director of the Institute of Planning and Development.

“We plan to use the shared information from the mentioned databases and link them on our Geoportal of the capital city of Prague,” Boháč said.

The new system is expected to be up and running by August 2024, helping to ease the gridlock caused by the city’s ongoing modernization.

“The good news is that there is a lot of construction going on in Prague, and construction will continue,” Hlaváček said. “This system will make it possible to add information from the database of closures of the Central Bohemian Region.”

Construction investment costs in Prague are set to reach nearly CZK 50 billion in 2024 as the city undertakes over a dozen major transport infrastructure and public space projects. In addition to the city’s own funding, the national government participates financially in some of these initiatives.