What about the project? As the Wrocław branch of GDDKiA explains: on 13 October this year, all key aspects determining the selection of the variant for submitting applications for an environmental decision were discussed. The documents analysed clearly showed that the greatest traffic, not only on the roads under discussion, is generated by drivers travelling to and from Wrocław.

Which variant?

Road authority:

Of all the variants analysed with the same level of detail, (...) the route of the A4 motorway in variant W1 was recommended, meaning expansion along the existing route. For this variant, we plan to submit an application for an environmental decision in the first quarter of 2024. The next stage, after obtaining the environmental decision, will involve geological surveys and preparation of the documentation necessary to announce a tender for the project contractor.

What will be done?

  • The existing dual-carriageway motorway with two traffic lanes and no emergency lane will be replaced by a new motorway with three traffic lanes and an emergency lane.
  • The work will be carried out while maintaining two lanes of traffic in each direction, the junctions will be reconstructed and new engineering structures will be built over the motorway.
  • Alongside the existing A4, a new carriageway will be built, onto which traffic will be diverted, allowing the old pavement to be demolished and a new second carriageway to be constructed.
  • In places where local conditions do not allow a new carriageway to be added, symmetrical expansion along the existing carriageways will be carried out.
  • The expansion will take local conditions into account.
  • Motorist service areas will also be built.

What next?

Road officials announce:

We will widen nearly 460 km of the A4 motorway.

And they clarify: Under the Government Programme for the Construction of National Roads until 2030, the motorway is scheduled to be widened along nearly 460 kilometres between Krzyżowa and Tarnów.

They also add:

We are already preparing the documentation for the section from Krzyżowa to the Wrocław Wschód junction and for the section between the Balice junction and Kąpielowa Street in Kraków. For the sections from the border of Opole and Silesian voivodeships to Kraków, the Minister of Infrastructure recently signed Investment Programmes for the preparation of the documentation.