Les grands projets de réseaux routiers tchécoslovaques entre rêve et réalité (1918–1938)Great Projects of Road Network in Czechoslovakia: Dreams and Reality (1918–1938)

Abstract

Czechoslovakia was planning (and it also managed to carry out during the First Republic) many big public constructions. There were also transport infrastructures, such as railroads, airport, waterways and road infrastructure. The functioning transport infrastructure was naturally deemed as the basic element for building of the new Czechoslovak state, being it not only from the political, but also economic point of view. This entry is focused on the road network the importance of which was not appreciated in between the wars as much when compared to the railways. In spite of that important changes were being made, being it both in planning and construction processes. The entry presents five major projects that reflect new tendencies both from a technical and political point of view. Their objective was to design for the state a new road infrastructure that would contribute to a political unity of the country, establish new economic relationships among particular districts and first and foremost connect the republic to the European road network. These five examples at the same time illustrate a particular atmosphere of that time, the visions of engineers, technologists and road specialists who were, in a way, philosophers or traffic networks.