Expressway S61 (Poland)

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Expressway S61 shield}}
Expressway S61
Droga ekspresowa S61
Route information
Length46.6 km (29.0 mi)
50.1 km (31 mi) dual carriageway
14.5 km (9 mi) single carriageway
214.2 km (133 mi) total planned length
Major junctions
FromBudzisko, Polish-Lithuanian border
ToS8-PL.svg S8 near Ostrów Mazowiecka
Highway system
← S52→ S74

Expressway S61 or express road S61 is a major planned road in Poland which is going to run from the Polish-Lithuanian border near Budzisko (connecting to Lithuanian A5) to Ostrów Mazowiecka (joining express road S8).

As of 2021, the part opened to traffic consists of four separate sections, forming the bypasses of Suwałki/Augustów, Szczuczyn and Stawiski (single carriageway), and a section from Śniadowo to Lomża south. The contracts for designing and building the rest of the road were signed in 2017-2018. The road will be a dual carriageway along its entire length, and thus the present single carriageway sections are being upgraded.

The majority of the route, 152.9 km (95.0 mi), is planned to get completed in 2021 and 2022, while two delayed sections of 44 km (27 mi) length are expected to get opened to traffic in 2023.[1]

Existing sections[]

The first section forming the bypass of Stawiski (6.5 km long) was opened to traffic in December 2013 as a single carriageway road.[2]

The second section to open was part of the bypass of Augustów, opened to traffic in November 2014. The extension of this section was the bypass of Suwałki opened in April 2019[3] (25 km in total).

The third section (8 km) was the bypass of Szczuczyn opened in November 2015 as a single carriageway road. The second carriageway was opened in May 2020.[4]

The fourth section (17.1 km long) was the connection between Śniadowo - Łomża Południe interchanges, opened to traffic in July 2021 as a dual carriageway road.

The fifth section (18 km long) was the connection between Szczuczyn and Stawiski, opened in July 2021 as a dual carriageway road.

The sixth section (35 km long) was the connection between Stawiski and Kolno, opened in August 2021 as a dual carriageway road.

Route history[]

The expressway became part of the Poland's planned expressway network with the approval of the Council of Ministers of Poland of 20 October 2009.[5] Before that, express road S8 was planned to continue from Białystok north to the Lithuanian border, serving as Via Baltica route. In 2009, S61 was introduced instead, while S8 was decided to end in Białystok. The change provides a shorter route for Via Baltica than originally planned, and the new course is viewed as a way to minimise its environmental impact on protected areas in northeastern Poland.[6]


References[]

  1. ^ "Mapa Stanu Budowy Dróg - Generalna Dyrekcja Dróg Krajowych i Autostrad - Portal Gov.pl".
  2. ^ GDDKiA announcement
  3. ^ Via Baltica. Obwodnica Suwałk otwarta, Gazeta Wyborcza, 11 April 2019
  4. ^ "Dwoma pasami obwodnicy Szczuczyna. Kolejny fragment S61 gotowy".
  5. ^ Dz.U. 2009 nr 187 poz. 1446 Polish government regulation on expressways network (in Polish)
  6. ^ Website of analysis project Archived 2009-02-26 at the Wayback Machine conducted by Scott Wilson for the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure (in Polish)

Sources[]

External links[]

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