The highways in Poland are divided into motorways and expressways. As of December 2011, there are 1,099 kilometres (680 mi) of motorways[1] (autostrady, singular - autostrada) and 769 km (480 mi) of expressways[1] (drogi ekspresowe, singular - droga ekspresowa).
Currently, three major motorways (A1, A2 and A4) spanning the entire country are being built. Many sections are under construction (contracts signed, construction in progress) and almost all remaining parts are contracted to be finished by mid-2012 (before Euro 2012). The only exception is the Warsaw-Belarus connection which is scheduled to be built later. By the end of 2012, 8 of the 10 largest Polish cities (Gdańsk, Poznań, Wrocław, Łódź, Warsaw, Kraków, Katowice, Szczecin) will have a motorway connecting them with the motorway network to the rest of Europe.
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Motorways in Poland are identified by the letter A, followed by a number (e.g. A1). Under current plans, by 2015 three motorways will span the country, two along the East-West axis (A2, A4) and one along the North-South axis (A1). In addition, three shorter motorway stretches (A6, A8, A18) are planned. The only complete motorway stretch is A8. All others are currently under construction, in various stages of completion.
Expressways in Poland are limited-access roads which can be dual or single carriageways. As of January 20, 2011 there are 718 km (450 mi) of expressways in Poland. There are about 570 km (350 mi) of expressways in various stages of construction.[1] The start of an expressway in Poland is marked with sign of white car on blue background, while number sign for an expressway is of red background and white letters, with the letter S preceding a number.
On May 15, 2004 the Regulation of the Council of Ministers (on the network of motorways and express roads) referred to a network of motorways and expressways in Poland totalling about 7,200 km (4,470 mi) (including about 2,000 km (1,240 mi) of motorways).[2] Regulation from February 2007 added roads S2 and S79 to the list.[3] Regulation from October 2009 supplemented plans with road S61.[4] The following table summarizes the planned expressways in accordance with government regulations. Please note the lengths are approximate and are only indicative. As of end of January 2011 there are over 700 km (430 mi) of both single and dual-carriageway expressways in Poland.[1] There are about 570 km (350 mi) of expressways in various stages of construction.[1]
| Motorways | |||||||
| Sign | Course | Total length | Existing | Under construction | Tender | Environmental decision (DŚU) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gdańsk (S6) - Gorzyczki (border) | 565,1 km | 205,4 km | 36,35% | 235,9 km | 123,8 km | ||
| Świecko (border) – Kukuryki (border) | 610 km * | 359.9 km | 60% | 112.6 km | |||
| Jędrzychowice (border) – Korczowa (border) | 670 km | 446,5 km | 66,64% | 223,5 km | |||
| Kołbaskowo (border) – Rzęśnica (S3) | 28,7 km | 21,7 km | 75,61% | 2,2 km | 4,8 km | ||
| Bielany Wrocławskie (S8) – Wrocław (S8) | 22,3 km | 22,3 km | 100% | ||||
| Olszyna (border) – Krzyżowa (A4) | 78,5 km | 7,6 km; 70,9 km (north carriageway) |
54,84% | 70,9 km (south carriageway) |
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| In total | 1974,6 km | 992,85 km | 50,28% | 659,4 km | 164,05 km | ||
| Expressways | |||||||
| Sign | Course | Total length | Existing | Under construction | Tender | Environmental decision (DŚU) | |
| Pyrzowice (A1) – Cieszyn (border) | 122,1 km * | 62,6 km | 51,27% | 1,9 km | 4,8 km | ||
| Konotopa (A2) – Nowy Konik (A2) | 35,6 km | 15 km | 20,6 km | ||||
| Świnoujście – Lubawka (border) | 478,2 km * | 154,15 km | 32,24% | 90,55 km | 201,35 km | ||
| Grudziądz (A1) – Wrocław (A8) | 367,7 km * | 41,15 km | 11,12% | 64,3 km | 262,25 km | ||
| Goleniów (S3) – Gdańsk (A1) | 318,7 km * | 46,15 km | 14,48% | 9,4 km | 180 km | ||
| Gdańsk (A1) – Rabka-Zdrój | 726,2 km * | 166,45 km | 22,92% | 108,15 km | 80,7 km | 241,6 km | |
| Wrocław (A8) – Białystok (S19) | 590,5 km * | 94,4 km | 15,99% | 236,2 km | 117,2 km | 110,8 km | |
| Szczecin (A6) – Płońsk (S7) | 459,8 km * | 43,55 km | 9,47% | 4,85 km | 24 km | ||
| Koszalin (S6) – Pyrzowice (A1) | 554,2 km * | 33,65 km | 6,07% | 22,1 km | 5,3 km | 111,7 km | |
| Piotrków Trybunalski (A1) – Dorohusk-Jagodzin (border) | 319 km * | 12,55 km | 3,93% | 43,7 km | 22,4 km | 12,1 km | |
| Łódź (A2) – (S8) | 40,1 km | 12,9 km | 27,2 km | ||||
| Warszawa (S8) – Hrebenne-Rawa Ruska (border) | 321,6 km * | 18 km | 5,6% | 43,7 km | 22,4 km | 113,2 km | |
| Kuźnica Białostocka-Bruzgi (border) – Barwinek (border) | 595,2 km * | 3,3 km | 0,55% | 26,15 km | 10,7 km | 31,5 km | |
| Elbląg – Grzechotki (border) | 50,2 km[5] | 50,2 km | 100% | ||||
| Olsztyn – Olsztynek (S7) | 21 km | 6 km | 15 km | ||||
| Ostrów Mazowiecka (S8) – Budzisko (border) | 247,5 km * | 14 km | 19,25 km | ||||
| Bielsko-Biała – Zwardoń (border) | 49,8 km | 25,7 km | 51,6% | 15,6 km | 8,5 km | ||
| Sulejów (S12) – Nisko (S19) | 192,2 km * | 6,8 km | 9,7 km | ||||
| Warszawa-Lotnisko (S2) – Warszawa-Marynarska | 4,3 km | 4,3 km | |||||
| In total | 5493,9 km | 751,85 km | 13,69% | 725,6 km | 258,7 km | 1393,55 km | |
First ideas of creation of motorways in Poland were conceived in the interbellum period. The main promoter of this concept was Professor Melchior Wladyslaw Nestorowicz of the Warsaw University of Technology, who organized three Road Congresses, during which a group of specialists discussed creation of Polish motorway network. On March 5, 1939, in a professional magazine Drogowiec, Professor Nestorowicz published an article, in which he proposed a very ambitious plan of construction of almost 5000 kilometres of motorways, I and II category. According to Nestorowicz, a nationwide programme of motorways, based on similar programmes in Germany and Italy, should be started in Poland.[6] Professor sketched a map of future motorways of the Second Polish Republic.
First class roads consisted of the following motorways:
A total of 2,400 km (1,500 mi)
Second class roads consisted of the following motorways:
A total of 2,295 km (1,430 mi)
Current motorway and expressway network plans are enclosed with regulation of Council of Ministers of October 2009. Currently planned network consist of 6 motorways (A1, A2, A4, A6, A8, A18) and 19 express roads.[7]
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