Below we present the letter we received from Karol Stasik, Chairman of the Bolesławiec District Council:
The city of Bolesławiec faces a transport collapse. The Lower Silesian Road and Railway Service Directorate knowingly abandoned the permit for construction of Stage II of Road No. 297 between Golnice and Bolesławiec. The construction of a road including, among other things, the north-eastern section of the Bolesławiec bypass was abandoned. This was done despite the completion of a technical design costing more than PLN 2 million.
From Wrocław’s perspective, the importance of this road is not recognized and it is treated marginally. Meanwhile, the reality is entirely different. Between Bolesławiec and Szprotawa, this road connects four important transport arteries: national roads Nos. 94 and 12, and the A-4 and A-18 motorways. Along this section, Road No. 297 is an alternative route to the A-18 motorway. In recent years, vehicle traffic on this road has increased significantly.
Once the reconstruction of Road No. 297 from Kozłów to Golnice, as part of Stage I, is completed, traffic will increase further—not only toward the motorways, but also toward Bolesławiec and onward toward Jelenia Góra (this is the shortest connection between Jelenia Góra and Zielona Góra).
After the introduction of motorway tolls, the increased traffic flows from Roads 297 and 94 will converge on the so-called arterial road in Bolesławiec. It is easy to predict what will happen then, because we have already endured the ordeal of traffic jams.
Can this be avoided? Yes, it can—by resuming the reconstruction of Road 297 as part of Stage II. This is the marshal’s responsibility. But that is not all. The actions already initiated by GDDKiA concerning the construction of a crossing over the Bóbr River and the widening of Road No. 94 running through the city should also be continued in order to increase its capacity. I think that both institutions [DSDiK i GDDKiA – przyp. ii] should immediately take appropriate action. The motorway interchange in the Bolesławiec area is the only one in Lower Silesia. This is an indisputable fact. One may dislike Bolesławiec, but facts are not up for debate.
These matters require sounding the alarm and moving heaven and earth while there is still time. The appropriate minister should be approached. Representatives of GDDKiA and DSDiK could be invited to Bolesławiec. Perhaps an on-site inspection would convince them. Other steps could also be taken. There is much to consider. At least three local governments should act in solidarity here: Bolesławiec District, the City of Bolesławiec and Bolesławiec Municipality. The authorities of Lwówek Śląski and Jelenia Góra should not be indifferent to this either.
In the past, optimal decisions were not always made in road infrastructure. There is evidence of this. Therefore, we cannot allow it to happen again.
We contacted Krzysztof Kiniorski, DSDiK’s spokesperson, about this matter. In an email to the editorial office, he wrote: “The abandonment of the investment called »Reconstruction of provincial road No. 297 together with the Bolesławiec bypass« is due to a lack of funds for compensation payments for land that would become the property of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship after obtaining the ZRID decision. Both the Bolesławiec District Governor and the Head of Bolesławiec Municipality received an explanation of this matter from the Deputy Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.”
He added: “Due to the lack of funds for this investment, its implementation was initially planned for 2015–2018 in the Multiannual Financial Forecast for 2011–2014. This issue was also the subject of explanations provided by the authorities of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship to local authorities.”
We will return to this matter.
(information: ii)