Some 20,000 Vehicles per Day Passing through Visnove Tunnel

Zilina, 4 February (TASR) - Around 600,000 vehicles passed through the newly opened section of the D1 motorway between Lietavska Lucka and Dubna Skala in Zilina in January, Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) announced on Wednesday. According to Raz, motorists are using the Visnove tunnel very intensively, with an average of 20,000 vehicles passing through it each day. The highest number of vehicles was registered by the National Highway Company (NDS) on Friday, 23 January, when more than 23,000 vehicles passed through the tunnel. "The very first month after it opened has already shown how much the tunnel has helped traffic not only in this region, but also in transit across Slovakia. I'm pleased that people are no longer wasting time in traffic jams and are instead travelling safely and comfortably through the new section," stated Raz. Traffic intensity in the Visnove tunnel is roughly matching the level of the original forecasts, which estimated the average daily traffic in the tunnel at 20,000 vehicles, including almost 3,000 lorries. "As the number of cars on the road in the country is lower in January, I expect it only to grow in the coming months," said the minister. According to Raz, the opening of the Visnove tunnel has significantly helped to ease traffic, especially in the regional capital of Zilina. "The endless queues have disappeared, and traffic is no longer being slowed down by the infamous Strecno bottleneck, either," noted Raz. The Visnove tunnel is 7.5 kilometres long, which makes it the longest tunnel in Slovakia. The entire D1-motorway section between Lietavska Lucka and Dubna Skala, including the tunnel, measures 13.5 kilometres. NDS opened the section to drivers on 22 December 2025. ko/df