Ružomberok D1 Bypass Now Open: Čebrať Tunnel and the Route to Liptov

What changed on 5 October 2026

Anyone who has driven to Liptov from Žilina, Martin or the Czech Republic knows the story. After Turany the motorway ended, and all the way to Ivachnová you drove on road I/18, along the Váh valley and then right through the middle of Ružomberok, with lorries, traffic lights and queues.

On Monday 5 October 2026 that came to an end. The National Motorway Company (NDS) opened the D1 Hubová - Ivachnová section to traffic, known as the Ružomberok bypass. It is 14.92 km long, with 19 bridges, three junctions and the 3.6 km Čebrať tunnel under the hill of the same name above the town. The tunnel runs from Hrboltová in the west to the valley near Likavka, and the speed limit inside is 100 km/h. Construction began in December 2013 and, mainly because of landslides near Likavka, took almost 13 years.

According to the Ministry of Transport, the new section cuts 16 minutes off the journey from west to east, and tens of minutes at rush hour. It is the second-to-last missing piece of the motorway between Bratislava and Košice.

Which way to Liptov now

From Bratislava and Žilina, the route now looks like this:

• the D1 via Trenčín and Žilina, and since December 2025 through the Višňové tunnel towards Martin,
• after Turany the motorway stops for 13.5 km and you continue on road I/18 along the Váh valley via Šútovo, Kraľovany and Ľubochňa to Hubová,
• at Hubová, back onto the D1 and through the Čebrať tunnel around Ružomberok to Ivachnová,
• from there on the D1 to the Liptovský Mikuláš exit.

If you fly into Vienna, you drive via Bratislava and then follow exactly the same route.

The Višňové tunnel between Lietavská Lúčka and Dubná Skala opened on 22 December 2025. It is 7.5 km long and the longest motorway tunnel in Slovakia. According to TASR, the Slovak news agency, it shortened the journey by about 20 minutes. Together with the Ružomberok bypass, that makes two big shortcuts since last winter. There is no official figure yet for how much shorter the whole drive from Bratislava to Liptov has become, so the two numbers cannot simply be added together.

The Ivachnová junction has a new layout since the opening. The National Motorway Company asks drivers to take care, follow the new signs and not drive from memory.

Vignette: the bypass is free, Liptov is not

Cars can use the Ružomberok bypass without a motorway vignette. The transport minister explained that the section serves as a bypass for the town. Lorries get no such exemption.

For the drive to Liptov you still need a vignette, though. According to the list on eznamka.sk, the tolled D1 sections are Bratislava - Hričovské Podhradie, Lietavská Lúčka - Turany (with the Višňové tunnel) and Ivachnová - Poprad-Západ, which includes the Liptovský Mikuláš exit. If you are heading to Liptovská Mara, Tatralandia or Jasná, you pay for this last section. Coming from Vienna or Bratislava, you drive on all three tolled sections.

Prices for cars in 2026: a 1-day vignette costs €8.10, a 10-day one €10.80, a 30-day one €17.10 and an annual one €90. For a weekend, the 10-day vignette is the one to get. There is more about getting here by car and by train in our guide Getting to Liptovský Trnovec.

A quieter Ružomberok and the trips around it

For anyone who is already in Liptov, the biggest change is in Ružomberok itself. Before the opening, the mayor talked of more than 30,000 cars and lorries passing through the town every day. Estimates say the bypass should take around 20,000 of them. There is no official traffic count since the opening yet, but in the first few days TV stations showed half-empty streets, and TN Live drove through the town in under 10 minutes.

Trips that used to mean sitting in queues in town are suddenly much more pleasant:

• Vlkolínec, the wooden village on the UNESCO list above Ružomberok, 33 km from our cabin.
• Malinô Brdo, with a cable car from Hrabovo, a bike park and views in summer and skiing in winter.
• Salaš Krajinka in Černová, a sheep farm with sheep’s cheeses and a restaurant.
• Likava Castle above Likavka. It is closed for restoration until the end of 2026, but the new Likavka motorway junction is right below it.

You can combine all four in one day, for example with an evening swim in thermal water. We explain how in our Bešeňová day trip guide.

Orava and Poland without going through town

The Likavka junction connects the D1 with road I/59 to Dolný Kubín and the Orava region. If you are going from Liptov to Orava, for example on a day trip, you leave the motorway right at Likavka and do not go through Ružomberok at all.

The same applies in the other direction for guests coming from Kraków and the rest of Poland via the Chyżne border crossing, Trstená and Dolný Kubín. At the Likavka junction they join the D1 and carry straight on to Ivachnová and Liptovský Mikuláš. The Čebrať tunnel is on the other side of the junction, towards Hubová, so they do not drive through it. Nobody has measured yet exactly how much time this saves.

If you come to Liptov via Donovaly, for example from Banská Bystrica or Budapest, you still go through Ružomberok, because the road from Donovaly enters the town from the south. Without the through traffic, though, the streets are much quieter.

Where the queues remain

The Ružomberok bypass has not solved everything. Between Turany and Hubová, all the traffic between the Turiec region and Liptov still uses road I/18 along the Váh valley. According to an analysis by the Ministry of Finance, around 17,000 cars a day were already using it in 2022, and the road was at the limit of its capacity. Regional media expect that the situation in the villages of Šútovo, Kraľovany, Stankovany and Ľubochňa will not improve until the motorway is built there.

In autumn 2026, expect two restrictions:

• The junction in Kraľovany, where you turn off the I/18 for Orava, is being rebuilt until the end of October. Traffic runs in a single lane in alternating directions, directed by traffic controllers during the day and by traffic lights in the evening.
• The Višňové tunnel will be fully closed in both directions from 7:00 on 25 October 2026 until 12:00 on 28 October 2026. The diversion follows the old road along the Váh through Strečno.

The 13.5 km Turany - Hubová section, with the planned Korbeľka and Havran tunnels, is still only being prepared. The state expects it to be finished in 2032. Until then, allow some extra time for the drive from Martin to Liptov, especially on Friday afternoons and Sunday evenings.

What it means for getting to us

Bosorka Zrub stands in Liptovský Trnovec on the north shore of Liptovská Mara, 2.5 km past Tatralandia. Leave the D1 at the Liptovský Mikuláš exit and follow the signs for Tatralandia and Liptovský Trnovec. Coming from the west, you no longer drive through Ružomberok but through the Čebrať tunnel, and the journey is shorter and calmer.

A shorter journey means more time here. A weekend by Mara works even if you arrive early on Friday evening, and check-in at the cabin is from 16:00. We have set out what to do over a weekend in our guides Tatralandia day trip and Liptov itinerary. You will find available dates for the log cabin on our contact and booking page.

We wrote this article three days after the bypass opened. When official traffic figures or new restrictions come out, we will add them.