Bratislava: Local Authorities Welcome Scrapping of Fees on D2 Bypass Stretch

Bratislava, August 1 (TASR) - The 12-year effort to scrap motorists' fees for using the D2 highway stretch of Bratislava Lamac-Zahorska Bystrica/Stupava has finally brought fruit, local authorities of Stupava, Zahorska Bystrica and Bratislava Lamac borough commented in their social network posts in response to the decision to extend free-of-charge sections of Bratislava highway bypasses as of Thursday. Zahorska Bystrica mayor Jozef Krupa pointed out that mayors of the capital city borough and Stupava had been petitioning the Transport Ministry and the National Highway Company with this request repeatedly for years. "I'm glad to say that the fourth application met with success at last. I trust that this move will unburden Hodoninska Street and contribute towards faster and smoother commuting of inhabitants of Zahorska Bystrica and the immediate vicinity," posted Krupa. Since 2011, the local authorities were arguing that roads, running parallel to the highway, were clogged up with undue traffic loads, yet the Transport Ministry in the past didn't consider opening the highway to motorists free-of-charge a systemic measure. As of August 1, the new directive of the Transport Ministry makes bypasses in Bratislava, Nitra, Kosice, Presov, Poprad, Cadca and Zilina available to motorists free-of-charge. Transport Minister Jozef Raz Jr. (Smer-SD nominee) underlined that the change is supposed to increase transport security and comfort as well as reduce pollution in the cities. mf/mcs