A18 autostrada (Poland)

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Autostrada A18 shield}}
Autostrada A18
Route information
Part of E36
Maintained by GDDKiA
Length7 km (4.3 mi)
76.5 km (48 mi) planned
Major junctions
FromA 15 Bundesautobahn 15 at border with Germany at Forst-Bademeusel/Olszyna
ToA4 A4 motorway near Krzyżowa
Location
Major citiesŻary
Highway system
← A8→ A50

Autostrada A18 is a short, planned motorway in southwestern Poland which is to run from the Polish/German border at Olszyna/Forst-Bademeusel (connecting with the German Bundesautobahn 15) to the Polish Autostrada A4. The highway is part of the European route E36 and the Pan-European corridor IIIA from Berlin to Wrocław.

As of December 2021, 7 km (4.3 mi) is opened and signed as A18. The main part (69.5 km (43.2 mi)) is undergoing an upgrade: the motorway quality northern carriageway (constructed 2004 – 2006) carries bidirectional traffic. The southern carriageway is being reconstructed, with the concrete surface from the 1930s getting demolished. The road should be opened as dual carriageway on the full length in 2023.[1]

After completion, A18 should be 76.5 km (47.5 mi) long.

Construction[]

The Reichsautobahn from 1930s served as the east-bound carriageway until 2020 / 2021.
End of A18 direction west

The 1930s (the southern carriageway)[]

The motorway had its beginning as a single-carriageway part of Reichsautobahn 9 (Berlin-Breslau) built by Nazi Germany in the 1930s,[2] completed between 1936 and 1938. This route had all the features of an autobahn, built according to the standards of the time, including all the exits, viaducts and bridges, except that only a single carriageway was actually constructed along most of its length and space was left for constructing the second carriageway at a later time.

The road existed in this state until the early 1990s, when the first 17 km (11 mi) at its eastern end was rebuilt with new concrete carriageways and first signed A18 (later, in August 2009, the section signed as A18 was shortened to 7 km, while the other 10 km of the road were re-signed as A4 after the completion of a missing stretch of that motorway[3]). In 1995, the second carriageway was constructed on the 7 km stretch at the western end.[4]

2004 – 2006 (the northern carriageway)[]

Between 2004 and 2006, the missing, northern (now westbound) carriageway was completed on its whole length[5] and most of the overpasses and bridges were reconstructed. By June 2007, the road had two carriageways in use. However, the older of the two (carrying eastbound traffic towards Wrocław) is in a very poor shape, as it still has a surface made of concrete slabs laid in the 1930s. Due to poor road conditions, the speed on that carriageway is limited to 70 km/h.[6]

Reconstruction of the southern carriageway was originally intended to proceed shortly afterwards, but did not start due to delays caused, in part, by changes in the motorway project required by new environmental protection rules (A18 passes through Natura 2000 protected areas).[7] On 15 July 2010, the environmental impact decision for the revised project was issued,[8] which would have allowed for the contract bidding procedure to be completed and for construction to start in 2011. However in December 2010, the Polish government announced significant cutbacks to its funding for road construction, which delayed the project for some years. In 2014, when the National Program of Road Construction for 2014 – 2023 was created, the government did not envisage it starting in the near future.

2020 – 2023 (reconstruction of the southern carriageway)[]

In 2018, the ministry amended the National Program of Road Construction for 2014 – 2023 by including reconstruction of A18 on the primary list. The 1930s carriageway was closed on the whole length in 2020 and 2021. As of December 2021, a very short stretch of pre-WWII concrete surface remains open to traffic (in both directions) within the border crossing area.

The reconstruction is intended to finish in late 2023, and the full length will then be officially designated as an Autostrada.[1]

Exits[]

CountryVoivodeshipLocationkmmiExitNameDestinationsNotes
PolandLubusz VoivodeshipOlszyna, Lubusz Voivodeship00.0—Germany–Poland border A15 / E36 – Berlin• Planned terminus of A18; road continues as Bundesautobahn 15 towards Berlin

• North-west end of DK 18 road designation

• North-west end of E 36 overlap
10.62—Olszynalocal road – TrzebielJunction under rebuilding as part of reconstruction of southbound carriageway – temporary roundabout; starting point of temporary bidirectional traffic on northbound carriageway
Królów9.96.2—Żary Zachód – Łęknica / ŻaryJunction under rebuilding as part of reconstruction of southbound carriageway – temporary roundabout on northbound carriageway
Drozdów, Lubusz Voivodeship2516—Żary Południe – Przewóz / Zielona GóraJunction under rebuilding as part of reconstruction of southbound carriageway – temporary roundabout on northbound carriageway
Czerna, Żagań County37.523.3—Iłowa – Lubań / ŻagańJunction under rebuilding as part of reconstruction of southbound carriageway – temporary roundabout on northbound carriageway
Lower Silesian VoivodeshipLuboszów5434—Luboszówlocal road – Lubań / ŚwiętoszówJunction under rebuilding as part of reconstruction of southbound carriageway – temporary roundabout on northbound carriageway
Golnice70.743.9—Golnice – Nowa Sól / Bolesławiec, Jelenia GóraJunction under rebuilding as part of reconstruction of southbound carriageway – temporary roundabout; end point of bidirectional traffic on northbound carriageway
—South-east end of DK 18 road designation; national road becomes motorway A18
Krzyżowa, Bolesławiec County75.546.9—Krzyżowa interchange A4 / E40 – Wrocław / Jędrzychowice, Zgorzelec, DresdenSouth-east end of E 36 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Concurrency terminus
  •       Incomplete access
  •       Route transition

External links[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b https://www.gddkia.gov.pl/pl/a/30266/Poludniowa-jezdnia-A18-zostanie-przebudowana
  2. ^ Listing of Reichsautobahns outside Germany's present borders, on www.autobahn-online.de website. A18 is part of the Forst - Breslau - Brieg stretch listed there.
  3. ^ Table listing existing highways in Poland, from Nowe Drogi magazine website (in Polish)
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2020-01-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ Table listing highways under construction in Poland, from Nowe Drogi magazine website (in Polish)
  6. ^ Urwane koła, zgubiony na wertepach towar. Pseudoautostrada A18 Archived 2014-05-02 at the Wayback Machine wroclaw.gazeta.pl, February 26, 2014
  7. ^ Natura 2000 areas map
  8. ^ gorzow.rdos.gov.pl
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