Small local milestones, ulica Baletowa

The tunnel, taking the S7 extension over ul. Baletowa, is ready, and opened to traffic on Thursday 17 December. This form of bridging seems far speedier than the method used to get ul. Karczunkowska over the railway line by W-wa Jeziorki station. Galvanised, corrugated-steel spans are erected over the road then back-filled with soil.

The photo below was taken on Wednesday 16 December; you can just about see into the tunnel and the double-unbroken yellow lines on the new asphalt.

The pace of the work (general contractor PolAqua) is breathtaking, given the pandemic. Yesterday, the southernmost section of the S7 extension, (5km of Section 'C' from Tarczyn Południe to Grójec), was opened. This section ('A', from the airport to Lesznowola) should be ready by spring 2022, and I'm confident right now that this is achievable. However, work the middle section ('B' from Lesznowola to Tarczyn Północ) is at a standstill, the general contractor being told to clear off as a result of under-performance. Will there be a new competitive tender for Section 'B'? Or will the efficient contractors working on 'C' and 'A' be given the middle stretch to complete?

Left: just ten months ago, there was nothing to show that the S7 would come through the fields between Dawidy and Jeziorki except for some fluorescent orange crosses sprayed on the grass. Photo taken 20 February 2020. Hard to believe just how much has been achieved since then, including the new road viaduct over the S7 that will link Jeziorki to Dawidy Bankowe. 

Below: the state of the road yesterday; in the distance the new viaduct; the tipper truck is driving along what will be the service road (one on either side of the S7). These are the same fields that you see in the photo above, ten months ago; another 18 months to completion, I'd guess.

Bonus snaps from While The Guard Was Down (On Christmas Day, On Christmas Day).

Below: while the giant upturned gutter was put in its place, traffic was rerouted along a small asphalted bypass. Now the tunnel is opened, the bypass is closed, so I scramble up to the top of the bank to take this panorama looking south. You can see the tunnel is yet to be completely covered over with soil.

Below: from pretty much the same point, looking the other way towards town, this time with a long lens. You can see where the S7 is to join the S79; there's a ten-metre or so gap between the roads.

Below: the level of the asphalt inside the tunnel is lower than on ul. Baletowa on either of its sides, causing a dip. There are no signs warning drivers of this bump. Drivers, however, are duly cautious of the new road surface. I didn't see anyone 'getting air'. Photo taken from inside the tunnel looking towards the railway line.

Below: looking south from the S7, Jeziorki to the left, Dawidy Bankowe to the right. In the distance, the new bridge (officially named WD-3 - all bridges, footbridges, tunnels, culverts etc have a designation, starting with WS-1 - our tunnel, above, all the way down to WD-30, just before Grójec.

This time last year:
Driving the Silk Road review

This time three years ago:
Snapshots of Lublin dressed for Christmas

This time four years ago:
The best of Warsaw's Christmas illuminations

This time five years ago:
Changes on ul. Baletowa

This time six years ago:
UK migration - don't blame the Poles

This time seven years ago:
Jacek Hugo Bader's White Fever: A Journey to the Frozen Heart of Siberia

This time nine years ago 
Thoughts upon the death of the Dear Leader

This time ten years ago:
Global warming or climate change?

This time 11 years ago:
Progress along the S79