Shedding light on an unused road

It will be some time before the Elka finally opens, from Marynarska down to Węzeł Lotnisko and across to Puławska, with the connection from Węzeł Lotnisko across to the A2 motorway. There's much to be done on all four of the Elka's junctions (though Węzeł Okęcie is very nearly ready). Road-watchers reckon that some time in the late spring of 2013 the S79-S2 ('L'-shaped road, hence the Polish name) will be opened to traffic.

Still, that's no reason why not to spend money illuminating all this fine tarmac. Below: view from the recently opened footbridge spanning the S79 and ul. Wirażowa, that links the bus stop on ul. Narkiewicza with a footpath leading to W-wa Okęcie station. Dozens of lights switched on; towards the end of next month, they'll be burning 16 hours each day!

Below: view of the footbridge from W-wa Okęcie station. Note pile of soil in the foreground, left over from the construction work.

Below: looking down the steps that lead down from the footbridge to ul. Wirażowa and a new bus stop. What buses will run here I don't know (will the 148 and 306 be re-routed once the whole new road network finally opens?). Note EU-standard wheelchair lifts in pics below and above. The motorway builders and PKP didn't get their act together; the footbridge falls short of the station platform, necessitating a march across the railway tracks to get there.

Below: view from  the end of the platform at W-wa Okęcie. I'm resting my elbows on the handrails of the pedestrian crossing for this long exposure. The new lights of the S79 have different colour temperature from the lighting used by the railway.

Gazeta Wyborcza picked up on this story after I posted the top photo on the S2-S79 forum on Skyscraper City*. It transpires that the costs of keeping the lights switched on at night on an unopened motorway will be borne by the general contractor, Porr.

* The Polish Skyscraper City forum, you will notice, is the most active in the world in terms of people viewing and number of posts.

This time last year:
S2-S79 Elka from the air (there was still talk of it opening in time for Euro 2012!)

This time two years ago:
Fish and chips in Warsaw

This time three years ago:
Spirit of place - anomalous familiarity moments