Wednesday, 2 September 2026
A pedestrian underpass near Prague’s Pankrác district has reopened following improvement works carried out through cooperation between Prague 4 and Skanska, providing a more direct route beneath the busy 5. května road.
The project is an interim intervention intended to improve movement through the area while longer-term development plans for neighbouring land are still being prepared. The reopened passage connects the area towards Sdružení Street and reduces the number of surrounding roads pedestrians need to cross. It is expected to be particularly useful for children and parents travelling to a nearby primary school.
Work on the underpass was completed over recent weeks and included removing construction debris, cleaning existing structures and creating a defined pedestrian corridor. Lighting was installed, while temporary barriers and other measures were introduced to separate people using the route from adjoining areas.
Prague’s Technical Road Administration also carried out maintenance and repairs to the bridge above the passage. These included cleaning, removal of deteriorated concrete, corrosion protection for exposed reinforcement, concrete restoration and protective treatment of repaired surfaces. The bridge is currently being secured and monitored while construction work on Prague’s Metro Line D continues.
The timing of the reopening coincides with the beginning of the new school year. Prague 4 Mayor Ondřej Kubín said the intervention provides an immediate improvement for residents rather than requiring them to wait for the wider transformation of the area to take place.
The project also has a longer-term property development connection. Skanska owns neighbouring land where it is preparing a future commercial development. Martin Zemánek, Project Manager for Commercial Development at Skanska, said the company wanted to deliver a practical improvement for the surrounding community while its plans for the adjacent site remain at the preparation stage.
The appearance of the underpass was developed with students from the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia in Plzeň. Their involvement also connects the temporary project with plans for a future street in this part of Prague named after Czech designer Ladislav Sutnar.
The intervention provides a small-scale example of how public authorities and private developers can improve connections around development sites before larger construction projects move forward. Such temporary measures can be particularly relevant in districts undergoing significant infrastructure change, where redevelopment and transport construction may otherwise disrupt established pedestrian routes for several years.
For Pankrác, the reopened passage provides an immediate improvement to pedestrian connectivity while work on Metro Line D and preparations for the longer-term transformation of the surrounding area continue.
