New roads and rails

A recent post by Student SGH prompted me to have a look at how the Warsaw's southern bypass (Południowa Obwodnica Warszawy or POW) is getting on, down by the river. The panorama (two wide-angle shots stitched together) below shows the pillars that will carry the bridge over the Vistula east of Wilanów. Work is going on quickly. One worth following on Skyscraper City. Here's the link to the latest - the 1,424th (!) page about the construction of the S2 from Puławska to Lubelska. The popularity of the thread is to do with the large number of people living around this particular project. So there are many fine photographs, many taken with drones, showing how things are progressing.

Meanwhile, there's no movement in sight along the route of the planned S7 extention from the airport to Grójec, other than the appearance of wooden stakes, painted day-glo orange on top, and waving stripy plastic tape, which are intended to show where the expressway will run.

This one (there's another in the distance, where this arable field gives way to a strip that's been left fallow) is between Dawidy (on the horizon) and Zamienie (behind and to the left of me). Somewhere here will be the first junction south of the airport, Węzeł Zamienie, the nearest to Jeziorki. Once this is completed, and the S2 with the bridge over the Vistula, the journey from home to the other side will take minutes.

Also seen (though not photographed) was the DK79 Góra Kalwaria bypass junction with the DK50, which is also progressing well. A massive roundabout, where the two main roads will meet, is taking shape.

Below: a rare shot of a weedkiller train making its way from Siekierki towards the coal train sidings at Jeziorna, seen here passing through Bielawa.

Below: worth throwing in this shot - it shows the globalisation of trade. This is the Chengdu-Rotterdam container crossing the Vistula, taken from a tram on the Most Gdański bridge. Note the emergency instructions ('in case of danger, break glass') on the window.

These container trains between China and western Europe (and back) are becoming regular sights on Polish rails; here's one, below, snapped a few days earlier at Czachówek (on the line from Duisburg to Chengdu). This is the Skierniewice-Łuków line (to the right the junction and spur running ofp to Radom.

This time last year:
The Gold Train shoot - lessons learned

This time four years ago:
Digbeth, Birmingham 5

This time five years ago:
Still months away from the opening of the S2/S79 

This time six years ago: 
Looking at progress along the S79  

This time seven years ago:
Snow on 3 May

This time eight years ago:
Two Polands

This time nine years ago:
A delightful weekend in the country

This time ten years ago:
The dismantling of the Rampa

This time 11 years ago:
Flag day