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D1 in the 1960s (D1 v 60tych letech)

70 years ago, Karel Chmel, then-employee of Velitelstvi stavby dalkovych silnic (VSDS) “headquarters of building long-distance roads”, invented the word “dalnice” (motorway). He did so after the invitation of the master of VSDS Vaclava Nosek. Motorway plans had already started in 1935. One of the problems was to find a suitable route. Bata’s route from Cheb to the Velky Bockov won in 1938, but the plans were changed during World War II, when Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany. The Czech motorways of today don’t resemble the initial plans, but they are growing in all directions thanks to funding from the EU.

Bata's plan (Batuv plan)

Why were these “dalnice” planned and built? Czechoslovak state authorities reported that motorways were necessary for the operation of the industrial centers and for development of remote parts of the contry. One of the first drafts of dalnice was the direction Pilsen - Kosice , or Cheb - Zakarpattia Chrust. Both of them did not cross the important center of the population. Then J.A. Bata, an industrialist from Zlin, came up with a proposal to the communication from Cheb to the Velky Bockov. The proposal also avoided the large industrial center and areas with large populations of people, but it was approved by the competent authorities.

D1 in the 1960s (D1 v 80tych letech)

Czechoslovakia, however, lost a significant part of its territory after the Munich Agreement on the 30th of September 1938. In the next months a new plan emerged that led to the new motorway routes: Prague - Jihlava - Brno - Zlin - Slovak border, and driving on the righ side of the road was also approved (Yes, Czechs drove on the left prior to this). VSDS was renamed to GRSD (Generalni reditelstvi stavby dalnic) - “Directorate-General of the construction of motorways” and the official name “dalnice” was approved. How did Karel Chmel come up with this name? He deduced it from the words “Long-distance roads” (”DALkova silNICE”).
The German “Autobahn” could not be used then since Czech roads had been planned to operate cars, motorcycles, trolleybuses and other at the time “unknown vehicles” - not just “autos.” If the dalnice name had not been approved, Czechs would probably be driving on autostrades or raceways today.

D1 today (D1 dnes)

During the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, dalnice were built under German plans and standards. After World War II many highways were unfinished and sentenced to a gradual decay. At the end of the 1950s, the individual motorist demand expanded and a few selected areas were to be considered for priority modernization. In 1967, the construction of the highway D1 (Prague - Brno) started and it was completed in 1980. This was, however, 40 years after the original plan of construction.

Present roads don’t resemble the initial plans, but they are growing in all directions. To date, the Czech Republic is covered by almost 700 km of motorways and other parts will grow during the next year thanks to funding by the European Union.

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Fist plans (Prvni plany)

Pred 70 lety Karel Chmel, tehdejsi zamestnanec Velitelstvi stavby dalkovych silnic (VSDS), vynalezl slovo “dalnice”. Udelal tak na vyzvani velitele Stavby dalkovych silnic Vaclava Noska. Plany na dalnice jiz zacaly v roce 1935. Jednim z problemu bylo najit vhodnou trasu. Batova trasa z Chebu do Velkeho Bockova zvitezila v roce 1938, ale plany na vystavbu byly zmeneny behem 2. svetove valky, kdy Ceskoslovensko bylo okupovano nemeckem. Dnesni dalnice se nepodobaji puvodnim planum, ale rozrustaji se do vsech smeru diky financni prostredkum z EU.

Proc vubec dalnice vznikly? Tehdejsi Ceskoslovenske statni organy oznamily, ze dalnice jsou nutne pro provoz v prumyslovych centrech a pro rozvoj vzdalenejsich casti statu. Jednim z prvnich navrhu dalnice byly: smer Plzen - Kosice a nebo Cheb - zakarpatsky Chrust. Oba ale neprochazely vyznamnymi stredisky koncentrace obyvatel. Pote prisel zlinsky prumyslnik J.A.Bata s navrhem na komunikaci z Chebu do Velkeho Bockova. Tento navrh se take vyhybal velkym prumyslovym centrum a oblastem s velkymi populacemi obyvatel, ale byl schvalen prislusnymi organy.

Ceskoslovensko ale prislo o znacnou cast sveho uzemi po Mnichovske dohode 30. Zari 1938. Par mesicu pote zvnikl novy plan na vedeni trasou: Praha - Jihlava - Brno - Zlin - slovenska hranice a take se schvalila jizda vpravo (Cesi jezdili predtim vlevo). VSDS se prejmenovalo GRSD (Generalni reditelstvi stavby dalnic) a uredne byl schalen nazev “dalnice”. Jak k tomuto jmenu Karel Chmel prisel? Odvodil ho ze slov “DALkova silNICE”.

Podle tehdejsich navrhu nemecky “autobahn” nemohl byt pouzit, protoze ceske silnice byly planovany pro provoz automobilu, motocyklu, trolejbusu a dalsich v tehdejsi dobe “neznamych vozidel”. Pokud by tento nazev nebyl schvalen, mohli by Cesi dnes jezdit na autostrade nebo autodraze.  

Behem nemecke okupace se ceskoslovenske dalnice stavely podle nemeckych planu a standartu. Po 2. svetove valce bylo mnoho dalnic nedostaveho a odsouzeno k postupnemu chatrani. Na konci padesatych let se rozrostl individualni motorism a nekolik vybranych oblasti bylo urceno k prednostni modernizaci. V roce 1967 byla zahajena vystavba dalnice D1 (Praha - Brno) a byla dokoncena v roce 1980. To bylo ale az 40 let po puvodnim planu vystavby.

Situation in 2007 (Stav v roce 2007)

Dnesni dalnice se nepodobaji puvodnim planum, ale rozrustaji se do vsech smeru. K dnesnimu dni je Ceska republika pokryta temer 700 kilometry dalnic a dalsich dalsi casti se budou rozrustat behem pristiho roku diky financovani Evropskou Unii.

Sources (Zdroje):

http://www.ceskedalnice.cz/historie.htm

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/UK_motorway_symbol.gif/120px-UK_motorway_symbol.gif

http://ekonomika.idnes.cz/eko-doprava.asp?c=A081114_222041_eko-doprava_zra