The construction of the Bolków–Lubawka (state border) section of the S3 expressway has been divided into two separate tasks: Bolków – Kamienna Góra Północ and Kamienna Góra Północ – Lubawka (state border). As part of both investments, a total of more than 31 kilometres of the S3 route will be built, which will eventually connect with the Czech D11 motorway.
What road will be built on the first section?
A two-carriageway S3 expressway, approximately 16.1 km long, will be built between the Bolków and Kamienna Góra Północ interchanges. Each carriageway will have two traffic lanes and a hard shoulder.
Two twin-bore road tunnels are also being built here—the approximately 2,300-metre TS-26 tunnel between Sady Górne, Stare and Nowe Bogaczowice, and the approximately 320-metre TS-32 tunnel near Gostków. The works are being carried out by a consortium of PORR (leader) and PORR Bau (partner). The contract value is over PLN 1.5 billion.
More about the TS-26 road tunnel
General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways:
Tunnelling from the southern portal began in December 2020, while excavation work from the northern side began in March 2021. The TS-26 tunnel consists of two main tubes for vehicle traffic: the left (eastern) tube, 2,301.88 m long, and the right (western) tube, 2,272.2 m long, eight transverse evacuation passages and one emergency passage in the middle of the tunnel.
The longer tunnel was excavated using the mining method in NATM technology (English: new Austrian tunnelling method, Polish: nowa austriacka metoda), which was selected, among other reasons, because of the geological structure of the rock mass, the tunnel’s cross-section and its length.
The next stage of the work will involve securing the excavation, followed by work related to constructing the final lining.
More about the TS-32 tunnel
The shorter road tunnel is being built using Cut&Cover technology, that is, in an open excavation. This means that the first stage involved making a deep excavation down to the level of the tunnel foundations, followed by construction of the reinforced-concrete structure.
A total of 223,000 m3 of rock material was removed from the excavation, equivalent to the capacity of 744 Olympic swimming pools. Work is currently under way to install the formwork system for concreting the structure, reinforce it and concrete the tunnel foundations. The tunnel lining will consist of 27 segments, of which the twenty-first is currently being built.
How did this investment proceed, and how will it continue?
- 17 October 2018 – signing of the contract with the contractor,
- 31 October 2018 – signing of the contract for investor supervision,
- 31 October 2019 – submission to the Lower Silesian Voivode of an application for the ZRID decision,
- 21 August 2020 – obtaining the ZRID decision with immediate enforceability,
- December 2020 – start of excavation of the TS-26 tunnel (southern portal),
- March 2021 – start of excavation of the TS-26 tunnel (northern portal),
- February 2022 – breakthrough of both TS-26 tunnel tubes,
- First half of 2024 – planned opening of the route to drivers.
What about the Kamienna Góra–Lubawka (state border) section?
The section of the S3 expressway between the Kamienna Góra Północ interchange and the state border at Lubawka will be a two-carriageway road approximately 15.3 km long, equipped with two traffic lanes in each direction and a hard shoulder. This section is being built by a consortium of Mosty Łódź (leader) and ONDE (partner). The contract value for this section is almost PLN 900 million. Physical progress is approximately 67 percent. The planned completion date for the construction works is the second half of 2022
The contractual value of the S3 expressway from Bolków to Lubawka is estimated at almost PLN 2.5 billion.