W-wa Jeziorki: S7 extension section 'A' end-to-end

Thanks to Paul W and Moni!

The Christmas break on the construction site of the S7 gives the curious a good opportunity to check out the local stretch of this major infrastructure project. A chance to walk odcinek A ('stretch' or 'section A') from one end to another, and in particular to the southern end, which I've never yet seen.

Both sections have been troubled by contractual issues. Odcinek A was originally meant to have been built by Rubau; the contactor fell foul of terms and conditions and the contract was annulled before any work has started; Polaqua went on to win the new tender (more than double the price of Rubau's bid). Now 22 months after it began work on the project, Polaqua has displayed a staggeringly fast pace.

Odcinek B has had a similar history, but here the initial contractor, IDS-Bud had actually made a start on the earthworks before being thrown off the contract for being too slow. Another firm, PTU Intercor, was finally selected earlier this year and is now getting on with it at a better pace, according to Skyscraper City's S7-extension watchers. [A quick aside - the first post about the S7 extension dates back to 2005; based on a press report claiming that the expressway between Warsaw and Grójec would be opened in 2008. One and half decades of over-optimism!]

Below: here's the southern end, where the two contracts meet. This point is about 150m south of ulica Słoneczna, the DW721 between Piaseczno and Magdalenka, In the foreground, odcinek A; concrete on the ground, most of the ancillary infrastructure (crash barriers, lighting, service roads) almost ready. Beyond the barriers begins odcinek B. It's Christmas Eve, heavy wet snow is falling, the temperature is just above 0C, but the snow is settling.

Below: from one of the detailed diagrams of the S7 extension (the whole of odcinek A is available for download here). Oriented with the south at the top, it shows the boundary between odcinek A and B, and ul. Słoneczna (DW721) passes underneath.

Below: underneath the bridge taking ul. Raszyńska over the S7, linking Nowa Wola to the west with Zgorzała to the east. No street lighting for the local traffic, but at least there's a pavement.

Below: looking north towards the new bridge carrying ul. Raszyńska over the S7. On the horizon, the cranes on the building sites of Zamienie, where new blocks of flats are continuing to appear amid the fields.

Below: ul. Krasickiego, running east-west from Nowa Iwiczna to Nowa Wola, passes through a tunnel under the S7. Looking west toward Nowa Wola.

Below: Paul's drone shots of the bridge on Christmas Day (much finer weather, -6C and clear skies), looking north.

Drones are just the thing for following the development of road-building projects!

Below: looking east towards Piaseczno - the S7 is crossed by a new viaduct carrying four lanes of road from nowhere to nowhere. This will, one day, be the DW (droga wojewódźka) 721 bis, relieving the heavy single-carriageway ul. Słoneczna. Trouble is, the residents of Konstancin further east aren't happy with the concept of a new road. Still, building infrastructure now in advance of projects that may not happen for another 15 years is not entirely new around here. In the middle distance, ul. Postępu (lit. 'Progress Street') runs north-south from Zgorzała towards Bobrowiec.

Meanwhile, Christmas Day saw Moni and me heading the other way along the S7 extension, to where it will meet the S79 (below), taking the expressway into central Warsaw. No progress since I last came here a few weeks ago.

Below: traditional farm building, Dawidy Zwykłe. Behind the house, acoustic screens and the S7. To the right, a logistics centre. Immediately behind me - the railway line. I hear the low rumble of an approaching coal train, and the distant 'ding-ding-ding' of the level crossing barriers as they descend...

Below: the fully laden coal train on its way to Siekierki power station.

The bridge over the S7 at Zamienie would be a good place for photographing planes on coming in to Warszawa Okęcie airport if there were a pavement along the side. But there isn't. Still - no traffic, no construction work, so on Christmas Day a chance for a snap. Below: LOT Polish Airlines Embraer ERJ 175 (Warmia i Mazury livery) on final approach.

New for 2021 in the most immediate neighbourhood - the view from our back garden looking towards ul. Trombity, where the old farmhouse and outbuildings have been pulled down to make way for a pair of modern bungalows.