Saturday 11 October 2008

One day this will all be asphalt

Some time soon, the authorities will start digging up these fields and building a two-lane motorway through them. This will be the section of the A2 Berlin-Warsaw-Moscow motorway that already exists in Wielkopolska, running east as far as Stryków (a place that should have a huge monument to Poland's infrastructure ministers - every one since 1989 - who've between them failed pathetically to build the country decent roads and rail links).

From Stryków, the motorway will run on towards Konotopa, a juntion to the west of Warsaw. From Konotopa, the next juntion will be here, just south of the southern edge of Okęcie airport.

To the north of these fields, the motorway will head on towards Ursynów, parallel to the Warsaw Metro's rail link to the outside rail network (below). Some houses will go, some plots and gardens will be shortened. Then, there will be a junction with ul. Puławska. According to Tuesday's Gazeta Wyborcza, work will start soon. Until then, I shall archive what's there.

The motorway will run along the right hand side of the track, cross ul. Puławska, pass the King Cross shopping centre (Real and Obi), then dive into a tunnel under built-up Ursynów (the white blocks in the distance on the photo).

Above: Map showing the stretch of motorway from the airport to Ursynów. Below: the flyover and junction at ul. Puławska in detail. Houses, gardens and allotments will go to make way for this road. And while the junction is being built (and it will take 18 months minimum from when the work starts), Puławska will be reduced from three lanes in each direction to two. This is the worst stretch for traffic jams as it is. I also note that ul. Poloneza, the nemesis of our brave Nissan Micra, will be tarmacked and will have a flyover (!) across the motorway (in red on left hand side of map). From dirt track to flyover in two years - that's progress!


More information in detail here (warning: huge 21MB file, takes ages to download)

This time last year:
Golden autumn in Łazienki Park
Emerald Isle impressions

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here is their home page with a 'global' perspective of the 'ring road' It would be nice to see some spokes on it to facilitate movement to the center and out. That's one reason prices of apartments, homes and land is so high - 'can't get there from here'. More should be done to open outlying areas. Heck, with the right work one could live in Grojec and commute in. Perhaps not in our lifetime however.

Michael Dembinski said...

The problem is you could keep adding spokes and adding spokes until all that's left is indeed spokes - everything under tarmac. I'm convinced that public transport and bicycles offer a more sustainable long-term solution. Extend the Metro south, under the Las Kabacki forest, to Jozefosław and Piaseczno!