- A1 autostrada (Poland)
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Autostrada A1
Route information Part of 
E75Length: 205 km (127.4 mi)
568 km (353 mi) plannedMajor junctions From: 
S6 near Gdańsk
S5 near Grudziądz (planned)
S10 near Toruń (under construction)
A2 near Stryków (under construction)
S8 near Tuszyn (planned)
S12 near Piotrków Trybunalski (planned)
S1 and 
S11 junction near Katowice International Airport in Pyrzowice (under construction)
A4 near GliwiceTo: 
D1 border with Czech RepublicLocation Major cities: Gdańsk, Toruń, Łódź, Częstochowa, Gliwice Highway system 
2005 photo of partially completed bridge over the Vistula river in Toruń-Czerniewice on the Torun bypass, with only one carriageway finished and pillars for the planned second one. The bridge was opened with dual carriageways in fall of 2011 and became part of A1.
Gliwice-Sosnica A1, A4 and national road 44 junction near Gliwice, the largest motorway junction in Central-Eastern Europe, opened 2009-2010The autostrada A1 in Poland is a planned and under-construction motorway which will run from north to south through central Poland, from Gdańsk on the Baltic Sea through Łódź and the Upper Silesian Industry Area (Gliwice) to the Polish-Czech border in Gorzyczki (Wodzisław County) /Věřňovice (Karviná District), where it will connect with the Czech motorway D1. The motorway is a part of the European route E75. The total length of the motorway is planned to be 568 km (353 mi). The recent goal of the Polish government was to have the whole motorway open to traffic by the spring of 2012, in time for Euro 2012 football championships, but that is no longer feasible. [1]
Contents
History of construction
As of December, 2009, about 134.6 km (84 mi) of the motorway has been completed. The oldest section, a 17.5 km (11 mi) stretch near Łódź, was built between 1978 and 1989, but then there was a long pause in further construction until 2005, when the building of the northern section (south of Gdańsk) started. A 25 km (16 mi) section of this project was opened on December 22, 2007, near Gdańsk, extending the S6 bypass expressway, and the remaining 65 km (40 mi) opened on October 17, 2008. The 62 km extension of the motorway to Toruń opened on October 14, 2011
At the southern end of the motorway, construction of a 15.5 km (9.6 mi) section from Gliwice-Sośnica to Bełk, part of the southernmost section from the junction with the A4 motorway at Sośnica district of Gliwice to the Czech border, began on March 26, 2007, and finished in December, 2009. As of late 2009, the remainder of the 48 km (30 mi) long section from A4 to the border is under construction, and should be opened in stages in 2010-2012. Construction of the 43 km (27 mi) section from Gliwice-Sośnica north to Pyrzowice started in 2009 and will be completed by 2012.
On Dec. 15, 2009 the Polish government announced that it is canceling the contract for building the Świerklany - Gorzyczki (Czech border) section, citing the unacceptably slow pace of construction by the company responsible, Alpine Bau GmbH.[2] The government solicited new bids for this section in April, 2010.[2] The bidding was won by the same company that lost the original contract, and construction resumed in October, 2010. [3] The original plan was for the road to be ready in the Summer of 2010,[2] according to new contract it will be ready in April 2012, in time for Euro 2012 championships.
On January 22, 2009 a contract was signed for the construction of the 180 km (110 mi) section from Stryków (junction with motorway A2) to Pyrzowice.[4] Under the terms of the contract, the segment from Stryków to Częstochowa (123 km (76 mi)) was to be finished by May 2012, while the remaining segment from Częstochowa to Pyrzowice (57 km (35 mi)) was to be finished by January 2014 (60 months after the signing of the contract). The motorway was to be built within a Private-Public Partnership framework by company Autostrada Południe. The contract included the rebuilding of an already existing stretch of A1 motorway (opened in 1989) as well as the upgrade of the existing dual-carriageway road between Piotrków Trybunalski and Częstochowa. On January 23, 2010 the contract was cancelled as the company was not able to secure financing.[5] It carried out the design project of the motorway however, which according to the Polish government was to make it possible for construction to begin in 2010 by new contractors, and be finished by 2012. However, the design project turned out to be full of flaws and will have to be redone from scratch.[1] The current estimate for the completion of this section is 2015, though it is possible that some sections will be finished earlier.[1]
The construction of the A1 motorway has been a political issue in Poland, as it is generally perceived to be an economically vital road that would connect the country with its major ports on the Baltic coast. Since 1989 various governments and political parties have supported an accelerated construction schedule for this motorway, without results. After many delays, caused mainly by lack of funding, new construction began only in 2005. When Jarosław Kaczyński was prime minister, statements from government officials indicated a firm commitment for accelerating the construction schedule, with completion of the whole motorway achieved in 2010. That plan was too optimistic, but according to current plans much of the motorway will be opened by 2012, with full completion expected around 2015.[1]
Sections of the motorway
Motorway section Length Constructed Note Gdańsk - Grudziądz 90 km 2005–2008 opened Dec. 2008 Grudziądz - Toruń 62 km 2008–2011 opened Oct. 14, 2011 Toruń - Stryków/Łódź 144 km 2010–2012 under construction, will open in mid/2012 Stryków/Łódź - Tuszyn 37.3 km 2012–2013 Design-build contract signed in December 2010, completion planned in 32 months [6] Tuszyn - Piotrków Trybunalski 17 km 1978–1989 built, to be upgraded in 2012-2015 Piotrków Trybunalski - Częstochowa 82 km 2012–2015 planned upgrade of existing dual-carriageway road Częstochowa - Pyrzowice 57 km 2012–2015 in preparation Pyrzowice - Maciejów 39 km 2009–2012 under construction Maciejów - Sośnica/Gliwice 6 km 2009–2011 opened September, 2011 [7] Sośnica/Gliwice - Bełk 15,5 km 2007–2009 opened December, 2009 Bełk - Świerklany 14,1 km 2008-2011 Bełk - Rowień opened in December 2010 , Rowień - Świerklany opened in April 2011 (delayed because of floods) Świerklany - Gorzyczki (Czech border) 18,4 km 2007–2012 construction interrupted in late 2009 due to contract dispute[2], then resumed[3] in October, 2010 See also
References
- ^ a b c d Ostre hamowanie A1 w Pyrzowicach, [1]
- ^ a b c d biznes.onet.pl article Dec. 15, 2009
- ^ a b Announcement on official www.gddkia.gov.pl
- ^ News on GDDKiA official web portal
- ^ biznes.onet.pl article Jan. 23, 2009
- ^ Umowa na budowę odcinka autostrady A1 w kierunku Katowic
- ^ Autostrada A1 otwarta z Maciejowa do Sośnicy!
External links
- Official website of Gdańsk-Toruń section operator (English)
- Official page for construction project A1 Toruń-Kowal (Polish)
- Official page for construction project A1 Kowal-Stryków (Polish)
- Official page for construction project A1 Pyrzowice-Gliwice Sośnica (Polish)
- Official page for construction project A1 Świerklany-Gorzyczki (Polish)
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A1 · A2 · A4 · A6 · A8 · A18Expressways 
Categories:- Motorways in Poland
- Proposed roads in Poland
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