| Autostrada A4 | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Part of E40 | |
| Length: | 444 km (276 mi) 670 km (416 mi) planned |
| Major junctions | |
| From: | A4 - border with Germany at Zgorzelec |
A18 near KrzyżowaS19 near Rzeszów (planned) |
|
| To: | border with Ukraine at Korczowa - M10 |
| Location | |
| Major cities: | Wrocław, Katowice, Kraków, Rzeszów |
| Highway system | |
The autostrada A4 in Poland is a motorway which runs from west to east through southern Poland, from the Polish-German border in Zgorzelec (connecting to the German A4 autobahn), through Wrocław, Katowice, Kraków, Tarnów, and Rzeszów to the Polish-Ukrainian border at Korczowa. The motorway is a part of the European route E40. As of December, 2009 about 444 km (276 mi) of the motorway have been completed, out of the planned total length of 670 km (420 mi). The section already completed, essentially the western two-thirds of the motorway, runs continuously from the border with Germany to Szarów, located just east of Kraków. The construction of the remaining section has started in 2010 and should finish in 2012 (with the exception of one 21 km stretch delayed [1] until 2013).
Contents |
Large stretches of this motorway were initially built as a Reichsautobahn by Nazi Germany in the 1930s. After the war, when the new borders placed them in Poland, they received minimal maintenance and upgrades, becoming notorious for the bad quality of their road surfaces, a phenomenon similar to that observed in East Germany. Extensive reconstruction, especially of the section between Legnica and Wrocław, has removed all traces of the old concrete road surface, but some aspects of 1930s standards of construction remain; for example, the aforementioned stretch does not have an emergency lane, a feature that is to be added in the future.
The section between Kraków and Katowice was built from the 1980s to 1996 and the section from Wrocław to Katowice between 2000 and 2005. In August 2009 construction of the last western part of the motorway from the border with Germany to the junction with A18 motorway was completed. Also, in 2009 the first part of the motorway east of Kraków (ending on national road 75 junction, near Szarów) was finished.
The original plan was to finish the motorway by about 2013, but because of the UEFA decision to host the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship in Poland and Ukraine and the resulting need for better road infrastructure connecting the two countries, the date was moved up to 2012. This target is ambitious and may not be attained if there are any unexpected delays encountered during construction. An additional 57 km (35 mi) from Szarów to Tarnów should be finished in the second half of 2011; currently the companies that will build it are being selected in a bidding process.[2] The section from Tarnów to the border with Ukraine has been in various stages of planning, with its route finalized and preparations for setting up bidding for contracts underway. The contracts for designing and building the 47 km (29 mi) long section from Jarosław to the border of Ukraine (divided into two segments, with different companies building each) were signed in the fall of 2009, with completion scheduled for April 2012.[3][4]
| Route | |
| A 4 E 40 | |
| (1) | Border crossing PL-DE Jędrzychowice |
| (2) | Zgorzelec 30 94 |
| (3) | Godzieszów 296 |
| (4) | Wykroty 94 |
| (5) | Bolesławiec 297 |
| (6) | Krzyżowa A18E 36 |
| (7) | Krzywa 94 |
| (8) | Chojnów 324 |
| (9) | Złotoryja 364 |
| (10) | Nowa Wieś Legnicka 3 S3 |
| (11) | Budziszów |
| (12) | Kostomłoty 5 |
| (13) | Kąty Wrocławskie |
| (14) | Pietrzykowice 35 |
| (15) | Bielany Wrocławskie 5 8 |
| (16) | Krajków |
| (17) | Brzezimierz |
| (18) | Owczary 39 |
| (19) | Przylesie |
| (20) | Prądy 46 |
| (21) | Dąbrówka 45 |
| (22) | Krapkowice |
| (23) | Gogolin |
| (24) | Olszowa |
| (25) | Nogowczyce 88 |
| (26) | Łany 40 |
| (27) | Kleszczów 88 |
| (28) | Gliwice - Ostropa |
| (29) | Gliwice - Bojków 78 |
| (30) | Gliwice - Sośnica 44 A1 |
| (31) | Ruda Śląska - Wspólna |
| (32) | Ruda Śląska - Wirek |
| (33) | Chorzów - Batorego |
| (34) | Katowice - Os. Witosa |
| (35) | Katowice - Bocheńskiego |
| (36) | Katowice - Mikołowska 81 |
| (37) | Katowice - Francuska |
| (38) | Katowice - Murckowska 86 |
| (39) | Mysłowice |
| (40) | Mysłowice - Brzęczkowice S1 |
| (41) | Jaworzno - Jeleń |
| (42) | Chrzanów I 79 |
| (43) | Chrzanów II |
| (44) | Chrzanów III 79 |
| (45) | Rudno |
| (46) | Balice I S7 |
| (47) | Balice II |
| (48) | Kraków - Mirowska |
| (49) | Kraków - Tyniec |
| (50) | Kraków - Sidzina 44 |
| (51) | Kraków - Opatkowice 7 S7 |
| (52) | Kraków - Łagiewniki (ul. Sapiehy) |
| (53) | Kraków - Wielicka 4 |
| (54) | Kraków - Bieżanów S7 |
| (55) | Szarów 75 |
| () | Bochnia (planned) |
| () | Brzesko (planned) 75 |
| () | Wierzchosławice (planned) |
| () | Krzyż (planned) 73 |
| () | Dębica - Żyraków (planned) |
| () | Dębica - Pustynia (planned) |
| () | Ropczyce - Sędziszów (planned) |
| () | Rzeszów - Zachód (planned) 9 |
| () | Rzeszów - Centrum (planned) 9 |
| () | Rzeszów - Wschód (planned) 19 |
| () | Łańcut (planned) |
| () | Przeworsk (planned) |
| () | Jarosław - Wierzbna (planned) 4 |
| () | Jarosław - Pawłosiów (planned) |
| () | Radymno (planned) 77 |
| () | Border checkpoint PL-UA Korczowa |
| M10 E 40 | |
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