Summary. A summary of the expert article from the society's 35th anniversary volume. The full article is available to download below.
Regional road R3-709 is a feeder route into Maribor from the direction of Malečnik and forms the shortest link between the eastern part of the city and its centre. In the mid-1970s it was closed to traffic because of rockfall from Meljski hrib, and its gravel carriageway remained impassable along 650 metres. The Slovenian Roads Agency placed the modernisation project in the operational programme for the 2007 to 2013 period, opening the way to co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund.
The investment comprised 780 metres of new road with supporting structures and a 210-metre reinforced-concrete gallery to protect against falling rock, footpaths with a cycle track, a mini roundabout at the Malečnik bridge, and regulation of the stream and utility lines. Construction took place within the protected Natura 2000 area, so the noisiest works were carried out outside the nesting season, and the first reptile underpass was also built.
The works were taken on in November 2010 by the contractor SGP Pomgrad, with the value including the roundabout amounting to 4.06 million euros, of which the European fund contributed 85 percent of eligible expenditure. The modernisation revived the shortest link and relieved the Drava bridges, which had been a bottleneck between the two banks. The society's membership took part in the project.
