Summary. A summary of the expert article from the society's 35th anniversary volume. The full article is available to download below.
The Western Bypass of Maribor arose from the need to relieve the city centre and both bridges over the Drava of traffic. It runs from Vrbanska to Kardeljeva cesta and, with grade-separated crossings of the railway and roads, redirects urban, suburban and transit traffic away from the core. Planning dates back to 1991, when the Executive Council of the Maribor municipality entrusted the Biro for Design and Engineering with a study of variants, and the route closest to the edge of the city was chosen.
The project took shape in four stages. The first, the Koroški most, was built between 1994 and 1996 with municipal funds. The second stage, up to Cesta proletarskih brigad, greatly changed the appearance of Studenci and was opened between 2002 and 2005. The third stage, up to Lackova cesta, with its unique underpasses beneath the roundabout, was completed in 2009 and, together with the earlier stages, forms a whole 3,050 m long.
The fourth stage, from Lackova cesta to the extension of Kardeljeva cesta, is in the land-acquisition phase, while the documentation is ready with a 2020 revision. The ultimate goal will be reached only with the relocation of the G1-1 main road out of the city and a new junction with the A1 motorway.
