An EU-funded project implemented in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie region of northern Poland has constructed a new section of the S5 express road. The section begins near the village of Białe Błota, at the junction with the bypass around Bydgoszcz – the region’s joint capital and largest city. It ends at the village of Mielno, on the border with the Wielkopolskie region.
Białe Błota-Mielno section of Poland’s S5 express road built
- 29 November 2019
With a total length of 54.12 km, the road is a dual carriageway, with two lanes and an emergency lane on each side of a central reservation. Its design has been adapted to enable it to handle expected future traffic volumes.
The work covered construction of road junctions, engineering structures, service areas, a road maintenance depot, culverts and wildlife passages, and installation of noise barriers and traffic management and road safety devices.
In addition, sections of adjacent roads were realigned to adapt the network to the route of the S5, which replaces the existing national road 5 and is a component of the comprehensive Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) network.
Part of a key national road link
When completed, the S5 will be over 400 km long. It will start at the junction with the S7 express road, near the town of Ostróda in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie region, and end at the A8 motorway, which forms the bypass around Wrocław, capital of the Dolnośląskie region in the south-west of the country.As well as providing a direct connection with the Bydgoszcz bypass, which is part of the S10 express road, the S5 will include junctions with the A1 and A2 motorways: the former at Grudziądz, a city of almost 100 000 inhabitants in Kujawsko-Pomorskie; the latter near Poznań, capital of Wielkopolskie.
The S5 is part of European route E261. Located entirely within Poland, the E261 runs from the village of Nowe Marzy, near Grudziądz, to Bielany Wrocławskie, south-west of Wrocław.
A fast, safe connection between major cities
Project objectives include enhancing the accessibility and efficiency of road links in Poland and interregional links within the TEN-T network. By contributing to the creation of a fast, safe connection between Bydgoszcz, Poznań and Wrocław – Poland’s eighth, fifth and fourth-largest cities, with populations of around 350 000, 540 000 and 640 000 respectively – the new section of the S5 achieves this.
The road supplies a missing element of Poland’s transport infrastructure, thereby increasing capacity and eliminating bottlenecks to shorten journey times between regional centres, improve safety and ensure high levels of comfort for long-distance, high-speed traffic. This facilitates free interregional and international movement of people and goods, boosting the EU's external competitiveness and internal economic, social and territorial cohesion.
Furthermore, the road will relieve congestion in nearby built-up areas, thus improving living conditions for residents.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Construction of the S5 express road Bydgoszcz – Mielno, section Białe Błota – Mielno” is EUR 320 482 739, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 164 424 958 through the “Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Development of the TEN-T road network and multimodal transport”.