The European Commission has approved four investments for more than 515 million euro from the EU Cohesion Fund and one major project of 94 million euro from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to modernize Poland's road and urban transport. The four investments in road construction aim to improve road safety and to boost the capacity and quality of transport corridors for national and transit traffic. The urban transport project seeks to provide commuters and visitors in the Krak&oacut
- 04 March 2015
The European Commission has approved four investments for more than 515 million euro from the EU Cohesion Fund and one major project of 94 million euro from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to modernize Poland's road and urban transport. The four investments in road construction aim to improve road safety and to boost the capacity and quality of transport corridors for national and transit traffic.
The urban transport project seeks to provide commuters and visitors in the Kraków Metropolitan Area with better, more comfortable travel conditions.
Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu said “Thanks to these investments, Poland's transport system will be significantly improved. I want to underline how vital transport infrastructures are to a country. Convenient road connections, comfortable and environment-friendly public transport systems; these infrastructures have a great impact on the attractiveness of a territory for businesses and tourism, on the competitiveness of the local and national economy and on the quality of the people's everyday life."
Last but not least, some of these projects contribute to decrease pollution while others envisage the construction of environment protection facilities like wildlife crossings, noise barriers and rainwater treatment facilities.
The first investment consists in the construction of the 8km-long Trasa Sucharskiego road in Gdansk. The road will connect the Gdańsk harbour with the TEN-T network Gdańsk-Brno/Bratislava-Vienna. The main objective of the project is to improve road safety and the accessibility of Gdańsk and the Northern region of Poland.The European Union through the ERDF, financed 94 million euro out of a total investment of almost 118 million euro. The project is expected to be finished in 2015.
The second project consists in the construction of the 10 km-long Trasa Słowackiego road in Gdańsk, including a tunnel under the Martwa Wisła River. The road will be one of the main transverse links in Gdańsk; it will improve the connectivity between the city, the sea port and the airport and reduce traffic jams.
The third investment aims at upgrading the conditions of public transport in the Kraków Metropolitan Area by replacing the old rolling stock with modern, low-floor trams, of a larger capacity, as well as by modernsing the purchase system of tickets for public transport. The project will improve travel comfort on the most popular tram lines and will increase the share of environment-friendly public transport serving the residents of the Kraków Metropolitan Area. Last but not least, the simplification fo the purchase ssystem of tickets will have a positive impact on the economic and touristic attractiveness of the region. The project is expected to be completed in December 2015.
Both the fourth and fifth investments involve the construction of bypasses, the first one being in Stargard Szczeciński while the second one is in the Podlaskie region, in North-Eastern Poland. The two projects, which are part of the TEN-T network, aim at providing a high level of comfort for high-speed, long-distance road traffic and improving the accessibility of Poland and inter-regional connections. This improves the quality of life of inhabitants of surrounding areas, ensures an adequate level of safety for all users of the new road and enhances the region's economic competitiveness. While the first project was already finalised in 2012, the second one is expected to be operational in 2016.
All investments are financed under the Polish operational programme "Infrastructure and Environment". The first project falls under the priority axis "Transport safety and national transport networks"; the second and third projects belong to the priority axis "Environment-friendly transport"; the fourth and fifth projects are part of " TEN-T road and air transport network" priority axis.
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