On Via Baltica the Łomża Zachód-Kolno section has been opened – drivers can now use two roads on the Łomża bypass along the S61 expressway. “We have put into operation the road towards Suwałki. Therefore, the entire international transport corridor Via Baltica from Warsaw to Budzisko (310 km long) is now a dual carriageway,” GDDKiA reported on Thursday.
Via Baltica, part of the international route E67, plays a strategic role in connecting the Baltic countries with Poland and Western Europe. The route runs from Helsinki through Tallinn, Riga, Kaunas, to Warsaw, and its Polish section leads from the border crossing in Budzisk to Ostrów Mazowiecka, where it connects to the S8 expressway.
Via Baltica is also part of two corridors of the European transport network TEN-T: North Sea – Baltic Sea and Baltic Sea – Black Sea – Aegean Sea.
Via Baltica: new bypass of Łomża
The Łomża Zachód – Kolno section is 12.9 km long. The bypass is equipped with three road junctions: Łomża Zachód, Nowogród and Łomża Północ. The value of the contract was PLN 713.4 million.
According to GDDKiA, the most impressive element of the bypass is the bridge over the Narew valley, 1,205 m long. It is the longest bridge in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, enabling a collision-free road over the flood plain. The bridge was founded on 1,917 piles, and 40,000 were used for its construction. cubic meters concrete and 6,000 tons of reinforcing steel. Under the facility there are animal crossings, internal roads of the Piątnica commune and a farm crossing.
New episode
Although traffic on the bypass is already moving on two carriageways, work is still underway to remove temporary markings on the road towards Warsaw. Therefore, one lane remains closed to traffic until these works are completed.
The Łomża Zachód – Kolno project is part of a larger investment involving the construction of the S61 Łomża Zachód – Stawiski expressway. The implementation was co-financed by the EU under the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Program (POIiŚ) for 2014-2020, with funding of PLN 440.4 million. The second phase of the project, implemented under the FEnIKS 2021-2027 program, received support in the amount of PLN 245.9 million.
Via Baltica cost PLN 11 billion
The cost of construction of all Polish sections of Via Baltica amounted to over PLN 11 billion, of which nearly PLN 6 billion came from EU funds.
The construction of the bypass was not without difficulties. The first contractor, the Italian company TOTO, despite completing most of the design work, did not start construction works. Therefore, GDDKiA withdrew from the contract in May 2021.
Another tender was announced in July 2021. However, it turned out that the selected NDI consortium was unable to meet the experience requirement in road works on its own. GDDKiA invalidated the selection of the NDI consortium's offer.
Finally, in May 2022, GDDKiA signed a contract with a new contractor – Przedsiębiorstwo Usług Technicznych Intercor.
