Expressway S19 (Poland)
Expressway S19 or express road S19 (in Polish droga ekspresowa S19) is a major road in Poland which has been planned to run from the border crossing to Belarus in Kuźnica through Białystok, Lublin and Rzeszów, to the border with Slovakia at Barwinek, where it will connect with the future R4 expressway (Slovakia). The road is part of the proposed Via Carpatia route.
Droga ekspresowa S19 | ||||
Route information | ||||
Length | 20.76 km (12.90 mi) 570 km (354 mi) planned | |||
Major junctions | ||||
From | ||||
To | ||||
Location | ||||
Major cities | Białystok, Lublin, Rzeszów | |||
Highway system | ||||
National roads in Poland
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The total planned length is 570 km (350 mi). As of 1 September 2017, only four short sections have been completed:
- 6 km (3.7 mi) bypass of Międzyrzec Podlaski, signed as national road 19 at present because of its short length (51.989°N 22.750°E),
- 7.87 km (4.89 mi) bypass of Kock and Wola Skromowska, opened in December 2011[1](51.646°N 22.462°E ).
- Lublin western bypass
- 19.39 km (12.05 mi) Rzeszów - Sokołów Małopolski, part of bypass of Rzeszów, opened September 2012
- 5 km (3.1 mi) Rzeszów - Świlcza, Rzeszów western bypass, opened December 2013
Also, the two existing sections near Rzeszów will receive short extensions in the coming years; tenders for those sections are already underway.
The planning of the road has not been finalized yet and debate continues over how much of it will be dual carriageway and how much single carriageway (with 3 lanes). GDDKIA officials are indicating that most of the road will have lower standard single carriageway, which according to them would be sufficient for the expected traffic density and result in significant cost savings. Local politicians are lobbying to have as much as possible built with dual carriageways.[2]
In late 2013, Polish government officials announced that the section of S19 between Lublin and Rzeszów will receive high priority and be completed by 2020. [3] As S19 is not considered to be a high priority transport corridor by the European Union (despite earlier hopes that it might qualify as such), there are currently no firm timelines for when the entire S19 might be finished. A document outlining the future development of transport infrastructure issued by the Polish government in August 2014 projects that the road will be fully completed in 2023. [4]
References
- GDDKiA announcement
- "Nowy pomysł na drogi ekspresowe, April 28, 2009, newsweek.pl". Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- Rzeszów - Lublin to priorytet. Ekspresowo do 2020?. Gazeta Wyborcza, Dec. 12, 2013
- DOKUMENT IMPLEMENTACYJNY DO STRATEGII ROZWOJU TRANSPORTU DO 2020 R. (z perspektywą do 2030 r.)