Ministries argue over Prešov bypass

The opinion expressed by the Finance Ministry's 'Value for Money' team of analysts regarding the approach to addressing traffic woes in Prešov is immaterial at this point because the preparation work for the city's bypass is now in its final stages, according to Transport and Construction Minister Arpad Ersek (Most-Híd), quoted by the TASR press agency. A new tender or a change in the route of the planned bypass would cause delays. In addition, around €50 million has already been spent on land purchases and project work in order to enable the bypass to go ahead as planned. The 'Value for Money' team has sent a letter to President Andrej Kiska, proposing that as much as €400 million could be saved within a comprehensive approach to addressing the traffic situation in Prešov. The savings would be achieved by building an eastern bypass for €280 million, before a new four-lane road, costing €150 million at most, across the city would be constructed. According to Ersek, however, the city's land use plan makes no mention of an eastern bypass. Opting for the eastern bypass route would result in a delay of eight-nine years which is out of the question because the venture is partly covered by EU funds intended for the years up to 2020.