Motorway construction along Poland’s S3 route aims to boost region’s business opportunities
An EU-funded project to construct a 48.27 km section of the S3 from Kaźmierzów to Legnica in Poland is part of an overall plan to eliminate bottlenecks along the route, improve road safety and provide new opportunities for jobs and growth in the Lower Silesia region.
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Poland’s S3 motorway runs from the ports in Swinoujscie and Szczecin, along Poland’s western border through to Gorzow Wielkopolski and Zielona Gora. From there it runs through Zaglebie Miedziowe, passing Glogow, Lubin, and Polkowice to Legnica, where it is part of the EU’s Baltic-Adriatic Core Network Corridor, and ends up at the Polish-Czech border in the south.
Eliminating bottlenecks
The total length of the S3 is 480.7 km. As of January 2016, 301.4 km are open to traffic, 112.8 km are under construction and 62.7 km are being upgraded to a two-lane express road. The project to construct the 48.27 km section of the S3 from Kaźmierzów to Legnica is part of an overall plan to eliminate bottlenecks along the route, attract businesses to the region, boost the economy and make life for people easier.
Upgrading the road from Kaźmierzów to Legnica to a motorway includes the construction of eight road junctions, overpasses, bridges, culverts, noise screens, safe passages for animals and four service areas for drivers.
Lower Silesia is among Poland’s top regions that are experiencing rapid economic growth. Upgrading the roads has the potential to attract more business to the region, which is also famous for its large number of castles and palaces.
A significant connection
The investment to upgrade the 48.27 km section of the S3 from Kaźmierzów to Legnica forms part of the EU’s EUR3.3 billion in funding for 10 major projects to construct about 330 km of motorways in Poland.
The rest of the four projects will upgrade roads in the regions of Podlaskie, Malopolskie, Swietokrzyskie and Mazowieckie.
The projects aim to eliminate bottlenecks in transport communication, improve inter-regional and international connections, attract businesses, improve road safety and help develop tourism.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Construction of S3 express road Nowa Sól – Legnica, section Kaźmierzów-Legnica” is EUR 466 984 013, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 238 895 797 through the “Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. Work falls under the priority “Development of TEN-T and multimodal transport”.