Highways in Poland

Controlled-access highways in Poland are part of the national roads network and they are divided into motorways and expressways. Both types of highways feature grade-separated interchanges with all other roads, emergency lanes, feeder lanes, wildlife crossings and dedicated roadside rest areas. Motorways differ from expressways in their technical parameters like designated speed, permitted road curvature, lane widths or minimal distances between interchanges. Moreover, expressways might have single-carriageway sections in case of low traffic densities (as of 2024, such sections constitute 3.5% of the highway network).

Polish highway network:

  Completed

  Opened with lower speed limits

  Construction

  Design (as part of design-build)

  Tender

  Environmental decision obtained

  Planned

Planned network defined by the ministry ordinance

Development of the highway network in Poland since 1932:

  Completed

  Under construction

  Planned

Total length of highways by year

A1/A2 Łódź Północ interchange

A1/A4 Gliwice Sośnica interchange

The development of modern highways began in the 1970s, but proceeded very slowly under the communist rule and for the first years afterwards: between 1970 and 2000 only 434 km of highways were constructed in total (5% of the planned network). Further 1050 km (13% of the network) were opened from 2001 to 2010, followed by 2773 km (34% of the network) constructed between 2011 and 2020. It is planned to open about 2600 km (about 32%) in the 2020s, while the last ca. 15% would be completed after 2030.

As of December 2024, there are 5173.4 km of motorways and expressways in operation (62% of the intended network), while contracts for construction of further 1413 km (17% of the network) are ongoing.

Except for the single-carriageway expressways, both types of highways fulfill the definition of a motorway as specified by OECD, WRA or Vienna Convention. Speed limits in Poland are 140 km/h on motorways and 120 km/h on expressways (100 km/h for single-carriageway expressway sections). Some motorway stretches are tolled.

Technical parameters

• Motorways are public roads with controlled access which are designated for motor vehicles only, and feature two carriageways with at least two continuous lanes each, divided by a median. They have no single-level intersections with any roads or other forms of land and water transport, and have wildlife crossings constructed above the road. They feature emergency lanes and feeder lanes, and are equipped with dedicated roadside rest areas. Motorways are the only roads in Poland which use blue background on road signs; others use green road signs.
• Expressways share most of the characteristics of motorways, differing mainly in that:

1. Expressways are designated for lower speed than motorways. For example, the road curvature can be more severe and the lanes are usually narrower (3.5 m vs 3.75 m). Emergency lanes can also be narrower (2.5 m vs 3 m) and in exceptional situations expressways might not have them at all.
2. Expressways can have a single carriageway on sections with low traffic density.
3. Motorways can have interchanges only with main roads, and the distance between interchanges is typically not less than 15 km (or 5 km near major cities), while expressways typically have more frequent interchanges. In exceptional situations, expressways might not have dedicated feeder lanes on interchanges. In theory, expressways are also allowed to have a one-level junction with a minor public road in exceptional cases, however in 2020 the last such remaining junction in Poland was reconstructed as a two-level interchange.

List of motorways and expressways

In 2004, the government published the ordinance defining the planned highway network of length about 7,200 km (4,474 mi). Notable changes introduced in later amendments include re-routing S8 and adding S61 instead (a change related to the Rospuda Valley conflict), introducing S16, S52 and A/S50, as well as extending S5, S8 and S10, raising the total length to about 8,200 km (5,095 mi).

The planned network consists of 16 major highways (over 200 km of intended length): A1, S3, S5, S7, S11, S17, S19, S61 running north to south and A2/S2, A4, S6/A6, S8/A8, S10, S12, S16, S74 running west to east, as well as 9 shorter highways:

1) Highways and major sections completed

Sign	Route	Location	Total length	Existing		Years of opening
	Gdańsk (S6) - Grudziądz (S5) - Toruń (S10) - Łódź (A2/S8) - Katowice Airport (S1) - Gliwice (A4) - / (Ostrava)		566.6 km	566.6 km	100%	2007 – 2022
	Main section: / (Berlin) - S3 - Poznań (S5/S11) - Łódź (A1/S14) - Warsaw (S7/S8/S17)		489.7 km	454.9 km 34.8 km	100%	mainly 2003 – 2013
	Main section: Szczecin (A6) - Gorzów Wlkp. - A2 - Zielona Góra - Legnica (A4) - / (Prague)		368.7 km	368.7 km of which 3 km near the Czech border remain closed until connecting D11 is constructed	100%	2010 – 2024
	/ (Dresden) - Legnica (S3) - Wrocław (A8) - Opole - Gliwice (A1) - Katowice (S1) - Kraków (S7) - Rzeszów (S19) - / (Lviv)		669 km	669 km of which 103 km substandard: no hard shoulder	100%	1983 – 2016
	Main section: Grudziądz (A1) - Bydgoszcz (S10) - Poznań (A2/S11) - Wrocław (A8)		340.3 km	340.3 km	100%	2012 – 2022
	Main section: Wrocław (A4) - Łódź (A1) - Piotrków T. - Warsaw (A2/S7) - Ostrów M. (S61) - Białystok (S19)		548.2 km	525.5 km 22.7 km	100%	2008 – 2019
	S8 - Pabianice - Zgierz - A2	Łódź (western bypass)	40.2 km	40.2 km of which 0.5 km substandard: an at-grade roundabout	100%	2012 – 2023
	Main section: Warsaw (A2) – Lublin (S12/S19)		150 km	150 km	100%	2013 – 2020
	/ (Berlin) – Krzyżowa (A4)		76.5 km	76.5 km of which 5.6 km substandard: no hard shoulder	100%	2006, 2022/2023
	Elbląg – /Kaliningrad Oblast		52.2 km	52.2 km single carriageway	50%	2008
	Olsztyn (S16) – Olsztynek (S7)		20.3 km	20.3 km	100%	2012, 2019
	Warsaw – airport – S2	Warsaw	4.8 km	4.8 km	100%	2013
	Katowice – Sosnowiec	Upper Silesia	5.9 km	5.9 km	100%	1985

2) Highways in development
Sign	Route	Location	Total length	Existing		Construction commenced	Of which under active construction	Scheduled years of opening		Tender	In predesign
	Katowice Airport (A1) - Mysłowice (A4) - Bielsko-Biała (S52) - / (Žilina)		144 km	79 km 17 km single carriageway	59% (64.9%)	4.8 km  3.7 km single carriageway		2025
				( 39.5 km) dual carriageway road	(94.1%)	39.5 km (new route)	27 km (new route)	2026
	Eastern section: Warsaw (S17) – / (Minsk)		168.2 km	72.1 km	42.9%	63.8 km		2025, 2029?			32.3 km
	Northern section: Świnoujście (/ Ystad) – Szczecin (A6)		85.4 km	50.9 km  5.4 km 1st carriageway	62.8%	29.1 km  5.4 km 2nd carriageway		2025
	Main section: / (Berlin) - Szczecin - Goleniów (S3) - Koszalin (S11) - Słupsk - Gdańsk (A1)		402.4 km	28.1 km   228.4 km 9.4 km 1st carriageway	64.9%	136.5 km  9.4 km 2nd carriageway		2025, 2026
	Gdańsk (A1) - Elbląg (S22) - Olsztynek (S51) - Warsaw (S8)		approx. 709 km	276 km	82.7%	45 km (reconstruction of the 2x2 road to 2x3 highway; 2 lanes per each direction are open to traffic on the whole length of the reconstruction site)		2025, 2027,  2032?			13 km (reconstruction new route)
				( 58 km) dual carriageway road	(100%)
	Warsaw (S2) - Radom (S12) - Kielce (S74) - Kraków (A4)			258.1 km	91.6%	23.6 km		2024, 2025
	Kraków (A4) - Rabka-Zdrój - / (Martin)			31.8 km	34.6%	(partial reconstruction to grade-separated; 2 lanes per direction)		2030?, 2032?, 2038?			approx. 60 km (new route)
				( 25 km) dual carriageway road	(62%)
	Eastern section: Lublin (S17/S19) - Chełm - / (Kyiv)		103.7 km	29.2 km	28.2%	68.8 km	14 km	2025, 2027, 2030?			5.7 km
	Eastern section: Lublin (S12/S19) - Zamość - / (Lviv)		126 km	9.6 km  2 km 1st carriageway	8.4%	92 km		2026, 2028, 2029?			22.3 km
											2 km 2nd c/w
Via Carpatia	/ (Minsk) - Białystok (S8) - Lublin (S12/S17)		572.5 km	18.5 km 1st carriageway	2.9%	229.9 km 18.5 km 2nd carriageway	87.8 km 13.7 km 2nd carriageway	2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029?			69.4 km
	Lublin (S12/S17) – Rzeszów (A4)			141.7 km 16.3 km 1st carriageway with interchanging 2 1 lanes	94.8% (100%)	16.3 km 2nd carriageway		2026
	Rzeszów (A4) – / (Košice)			11.4 km	11.8%	85.2 km	42.6 km	2025, 2026, 2027, tunnels: 2028, 2031
part 2	Kraków-Balice (A4) – Kraków‑Mistrzejowice (S7)	Kraków (northern bypass)	18.3 km	5.8 km	31.4%	12.5 km		2024
Via Baltica	Ostrów Mazowiecka (S8) - Łomża - Ełk (S16) - Suwałki - / (Kaunas)		210.7 km	197.8 km  12.9 km 1st carriageway	93.9% (100%)	12.9 km 2nd carriageway		2025
3) Highways partially in development
Sign	Route	Location	Total length	Existing		Construction commenced	Of which under active construction	Tender	Predesign complete	In predesign		Planned comple­tion
	Southern extension: Wrocław (A8) - Kłodzko - / (Brno)		approx. 127.4 km	5.1 km	4%	32.5 km		36.3 km		approx. 53.5 km		2028, 2033
	Main section: Szczecin (A6) - Piła (S11) - Bydgoszcz (S5) - Toruń (A1)		297 km	50.2 km 17.5 km 1st carriageway	19.8%	147.5 km  10.9 km 2nd carriageway	14.3 km	4.5 km 6.6 km 2nd carriageway		37.8 km		2030
										39.5 km
	Koszalin (S6) - Piła (S10) - Poznań (A2/S5) - Kępno (S8) - Piekary Śląskie (A1)		556.5 km	154.4 km 10.5 km 1st carriageway	28.7%	92.1 km 4.2 km 2nd carriageway	25 km	30 km		47 km		2030
										222.5 km  6.3 km 2nd c/w
	Sulejów (S12) - Kielce (S7) - Nisko (S19)		207 km	6.7 km	3.2%	108.6 km	9.7 km			92 km		2032
4) Planned highways
Sign	Route	Location	Total length	Existing		Construction commenced	Of which under active construction	Tender	Predesign complete	In predesign		Planned comple­tion
	Eastern extension: Ostróda (S7) – Grudziądz (A1)		approx. 104.3 km	14.3 km	13.7%					approx. 90 km		2033
	Western extension: Bolków (S3) – Świdnica – S8		approx. 50 km	0 km	0%					approx. 50 km		2031
	Western extension: Kołbaskowo (A6) – Goleniów (S3)	Szczecin (western bypass)	50.8 km	0 km	0%			50.8 km				2032
	Eastern section: Włocławek (A1) - Płock - Warsaw (S7)		approx. 120 km	0 km	0%					approx. 120 km		2033
	Western section: Piotrków Tryb. (A1) - Sulejów (S74) - Radom (S7) - Lublin (S17)		185 km	16.4 km  6.0 km 1st carriageway	10.7%	29.1 km				133.5 km  6.0 km 2nd c/w		2032
	Olsztyn (S51) - Ełk (S61) - Białystok (S19)		approx. 245 km	46.2 km 20.1 km 1st carriageway	23%	19.7 km  20.1 km 2nd carriageway				77.5 km		2037
										approx. 81.5 km
	Marki (S8) – Lubelska (A2/S2)	Warsaw (eastern bypass)	17.3 km	3.5 km	20.2%					13.8 km		2032
	CPK (A2) - Mińsk M. (A2) - CPK	Warsaw (2nd ring road)	approx. 265 km	0 km	0%					approx. 100 km approx. 165 km		2036
	/ (Olomouc) - Cieszyn - Bielsko-Biała (S1) - Wadowice - Głogoczów (S7)		98 km	37 km	37.8%					61 km		2032
In total
Planned length				Existing		Construction commenced	Of which under active construction	Tender	Predesign complete	In predesign		No progress
Total	approx. 8,196 km (5,093 mi)	approx. 2086 km approx. 6110 km		4955.1 km 177.6 km 1st carriageway	61.54%	1324.3 km 3.7 km 1st c/w 84.8 km 2nd c/w	568.8 km 3.7 km 1st c/w 57.7 km 2nd c/w	121.6 km 6.6 km 2nd carriageway	0 km	approx. 1613.6 km 14.3 km 2nd carriageway		73 km 2nd c/w

Cross-sections

A4 in Zabrze: section with 2x3 lanes

S5 near Bydgoszcz with 2x2 lanes: the most common highway type

S22 near Kaliningrad Oblast border: a single-carriageway expressway; space reservation for the 2nd carriageway can be seen on the right

The operational sections of highways utilize the following cross-sections:

• 7% (354 km) – motorways and expressways with 2x3 or (occasionally) 2x4 or 2x5 lanes,
• 89.5% (4641 km) – motorways and expressways with 2x2 lanes,
• 3.5% (178 km) – single-carriageway expressways, of which: 109 km with 1 1 lanes, 53 km with 1 1 lanes and dual-carriageway fragments (2x2) around the interchanges, 16 km with interchanging 2 1 lanes.

All single-carriageway expressways are constructed with allocated space for a possible upgrade to dual-carriageway and all bridges above such highways are prepared to accommodate the second carriageway. Most of those sections are planned to be widened to full profile by 2033, the exceptions being S1 (near the Slovak border) and S22 (near the border with Kaliningrad Oblast) where widening is currently not expected.

Substandard highways

The substandard section of A4 west of Wrocław

Motorways and expressways constructed before 1999 do not have to fulfill technical parameters defined by the ministry ordinance. As of 2024, one notable case of a substandard highway remains:

• A4 on the section Krzyżowa – Wrocław (103 km) was constructed in years 1934 – 1937 (then the territory of Nazi Germany) and renovated in years 2002 – 2006. The road received new high quality surface but the geometry was kept unchanged and many overpasses above the motorway were kept. In effect, this part has no emergency lanes and the speed limit is decreased to 110 km/h. Its full reconstruction (and widening to three lanes per direction) is scheduled for years 2027 – 2031.

Notable historical cases are:

Historical cases

• S3 near Szczecin (19 km) was opened in 1979 and it featured two at-grade road intersections, as the last such expressway section in Poland, until the reconstruction in years 2019 – 2020.
• A6 near Szczecin (29 km) was constructed by Nazi Germany and kept using the original surface made of concrete slabs until the reconstruction conducted in years 1996 – 1999 and (easternmost fragment) 2017 – 2021.
• A18 (70 km) had its southern carriageway constructed by Nazi Germany. The northern carriageway was constructed in 2004 – 2006, while the southern carriageway kept using the original concrete slabs until the reconstruction conducted in years 2020 – 2023.

Speed limits

Maximum speed (km/h) by vehicle type	Motorway	Expressway
		dual-carriageway	single-carriageway
Private car, motorbike, van up to 3.5 t (does not apply if towing trailer)	140	120	100
Bus meeting additional technical requirements	100
Bus; a vehicle over 3.5 t or towing trailer or carrying dangerous materials	80
Vehicle having equipment more than 1.5 m forward of the driver's seat	60
Motorbike (including towing trailer) carrying a child up to 7 years old	40

Other restrictions

• Pedestrians, bicycles, mopeds, and agricultural vehicles are not allowed on motorways.
• Minimum speed on motorways is 40 km/h except in extraordinary circumstances (e.g. snow, ice, or a car broken down).
• It is forbidden to stop except in extraordinary circumstances, or to travel backwards.
• Towing is not allowed on motorways, but is permitted on expressways.

Tolls

Motorways with tolled sections

E-toll sign for vehicles over 3.5 t

Since 2023, almost all highways are free for vehicles up to 3.5 tons of permissible maximum weight (for a passenger car with a trailer, the joint permissible maximum weight of the car and the trailer must not exceed 3.5 tons). On some sections, the old infrastructure for toll collection is still in place.

The privately-owned sections of A2 and A4 are tolled. These sections are indicated by the motorway sign accompanied by the word Płatna.

Tolled sections

Sign		Section	Managed by	Length	Price	Notes	Manual toll collection	Electronic toll collection
		Rzepin – Poznań-West	AWSA	133 km	50 PLN ($13)	Poznań bypass, including the common sections with S5 and S11, is free.	Closed system: there are toll stations on every interchange; the driver receives a ticket upon entering the motorway and pays on the exit, with the price dependent on the distance driven.	—
		Poznań-East – Sługocin		85 km	64 PLN ($16)		Open system: two toll stations are located at the ends of the section; a person driving the whole distance pays at both gates, while a person entering or leaving the motorway mid-section pays only at one gate.	—
		Mysłowice – Kraków-Balice	Stalexport	52 km	32 PLN ($7)	Kraków bypass, including the common sections with S7 and S52, is free.		Electronic toll collection through the Autopay mobile app allows one to choose the "fast gates" instead of waiting in the queue to the regular gates that support both manual and electronic toll collection.

Vehicles over 3.5 tons and buses

Using e-Toll is obligatory for buses as well as all vehicles with maximum permissible weight exceeding 3.5 tons (including the trailer) while driving on the Polish roads (not just the highways). More details can be found on the e-Toll website.

Traffic volumes

Traffic volumes in Poland note rapid increase since the fall of communism in 1989: the annual average daily traffic recorded in 2020 amounts to over 360% of the average traffic recorded in 1990. With the increasing traffic, the length of overburdened single-carriageway national roads had also been steadily increasing until reaching the maximum of 1389 km in 2010. Due to the large number of highway sections opened between 2010 and 2020, in that decade the length of overburdened roads has fallen down for the first time in history, from 1389 km in 2010 to 1121 km in 2020.

The latest general measurement was conducted in 2020, although some measurement days were moved to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which would have caused the results from 2020 to be unreliable. The following highways recorded the highest volumes:

Busiest highways in Poland (absolute numbers)
No	Section	Vehicles / day	Notes
1	S8 in Warsaw	198,000	Highest AADT on sections with 5 lanes per direction: 198k. Highest AADT on sections with 3 lanes per direction: 179k. S8 in Warsaw serves both the transit and local traffic, and long jams form on it during rush hours. Partially joint with S7.
2	S2: Warsaw southern bypass	143,000	Data from 2023 – the results from 2020 were not considered reliable because the tunnel section was missing. Partially joint with S7 and S8. 3 lanes per direction.
3	S86	113,000	S86 serves mainly local traffic between Sosnowiec and Katowice and is not part of Poland's transit network. 3 lanes per direction.
4	A4 in Katowice	105,000	A4 serves both the transit traffic (2 lanes per direction) and local traffic (2 lanes per direction).
Busiest highways in Poland (per number of lanes)
No	Section	Vehicles / day / number of lanes	Notes
1	S8 in Warsaw	179,000 / 2×3 lanes	See above.
2	S2: Warsaw southern bypass	143,000 / 2×3 lanes
3	S6: Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia bypass	93,000 / 2×2 lanes	Some decrease in traffic on S6 is expected after Tricity Outer Bypass (S7) is opened in mid-2025.
4	A4: Kraków western bypass	85,000 / 2×2 lanes	Some decrease in traffic on A4 is expected after Kraków north-eastern bypass (S7/S52) is opened in mid-2026. Widening to 3 lanes per direction is planned in the future (after 2030).

The other highest and lowest recorded AADT values were:

Category	Section	Vehicles / day	Notes
Busiest regular national roads Note: Measurements are not performed on national roads within the borders of major cities
Busiest dual-carriageway national road	DK7 north of Warsaw	63,000	2 lanes per direction with at-grade intersections and traffic lights. New parallel route of S7 is planned to be opened in the future (around 2032).
Busiest single-carriageway national road	DK44 west of Kraków	36,000	Widening to 2 lanes per direction is planned in the future (after 2030).
Busiest single-carriageway national road within the planned highway network	DK19 north of Lublin	28,500	S19 is under construction, expected to be opened in mid-2027.
Busiest single-carriageway highways
Busiest single-carriageway highway	S1 near Żywiec	17,000
Least busy highways
Least busy single-carriageway highway	S22 near /Kaliningrad Oblast	800	Data from 2023 – the results from 2020 were not considered reliable due to restrictions in crossing the external EU borders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Least busy dual-carriageway highway	A4 near /	2,200
Least busy highway excluding near-border sections	S11 Szczecinek bypass	3,900 – 6,400

History

Before World War II

The network planned prior to WWII

Pre-WWII surface on A6 before the reconstruction (photo from 2009)

Pre-WWII surface on the southern carriageway of A18 before the reconstruction (photo from 2012)

The first plans of creation of a national highway network in Poland were conceived in the interwar period:

Plans

The main promoter of this concept was Professor Melchior Wladyslaw Nestorowicz of the Warsaw University of Technology, who organized three Road Congresses, during which a group of specialists discussed the creation of the network. On 5 March 1939, in the trade magazine Drogowiec, Professor Nestorowicz proposed a very ambitious plan for the construction of almost 5,000 kilometres of category I and II roads, based on similar programmes in Germany and Italy. Nestorowicz sketched a map of the future system with the following routes:

First class roads would, according to the plans, consist of the following motorways (totalling some 2,500 km (1,553.4 mi):

• Warsaw - Łódź - 100 km
• Warsaw – Poznań - Polish-German border - 350 km
• Warsaw beltway - 130 km
• Poznań beltway - 80 km
• Gdynia – Bydgoszcz – Łódź – 500 km
• Łódź beltway - 90 km
• Bytow - Free City of Danzig border - 50 km
• Katowice – Kraków – Lwów - 375 km
• Warsaw – Lublin - Lwów – Sniatyn - Polish-Romanian border - 550 km
• Puławy – Sandomierz – Przemyśl - 175 km

Second class roads would consist of the following motorways, totalling another 2,295 km (1,430 mi):

• Piotrków Trybunalski - Kielce - Sandomierz - 180 km
• Warsaw – Kielce – Kraków - 180 km
• Łódź - Kalisz - Polish-German border north of Wrocław - 130 km
• Warsaw – Grodno – Vilnius – Polish - Lithuania - Latvian border near Daugavpils - 575 km
• Grodno - Nowogrodek - Polish-Soviet border near Minsk - 190 km
• Bydgoszcz – Poznań – Częstochowa - 350 km
• Katowice – Cieszyn – Polish-Czechoslovak border - 60 km
• Ostrołęka - Polish-East Prussian border - 50 km
• Grodno - Polish-Lithuanian border - 40 km
• Grodno - Brzesc nad Bugiem - Krasnystaw - 300 km
• Warsaw – Brzesc nad Bugiem - 170 km

In 1934, Nazi Germany started the construction of their motorway system, parts of which today form A18 and A4 to Wrocław (Breslau), as well as A6 (Szczecin bypass) and S22 (parts of the planned motorway to Königsberg). About half of them were constructed as single-carriageway with the intention of adding a second carriageway in later years. However, after 1938, warfare expenses meant little money would be invested into any infrastructure and only one 9 km single-carriageway piece west of Gliwice (now A4) was constructed.

Highway sections constructed by Nazi Germany
Signage	Section	Length	Start of construction	Opening	Notes
	Krzyżowa () – Krzywa	12.3 km (7.6 mi)	1934	17 October 1937
	Krzywa – Wrocław	91 km (56.5 mi)		27 September 1936
	Wrocław – Brzeg (Owczary)	34.1 km (21.2 mi)		1938	Southern carriageway only
	Ujazd (Nogowczyce) – Łany	9.1 km (5.7 mi)	1940	1942
	Łany – Kleszczów (Gliwice)	8.8 km (5.5 mi)	1936	1938
	– Szczecin-Zachód	2.6 km (1.6 mi)	1934	27 September 1936
	Szczecin-Zachód – Rzęśnica	26.6 km (16.5 mi)		1938
	– Iłowa	37.2 km (23.1 mi)	1936	1938	Southern carriageway only
	Iłowa – Golnice	32 km (19.9 mi)	1935	17 October 1937
	Golnice – Krzyżowa ()	5.9 km (3.7 mi)	1936	1938
	Elbląg – Grzechotki	51.4 km (31.9 mi)	1934	1938	Western carriageway only
Total		316.9 km (196.9 mi) of which 178.5 km (110.9 mi) single carriageway	Note: Signage of the roads at the time of opening was different.

In Poland, a 28 km stretch between Warlubie and Osiek (now DW214) was constructed in 1937 – 1939 in the motorway standard of the time (today not considered a highway) with a concrete surface, which was designed by Italian engineer Piero Puricelli. The motorway was planned to reach Gdynia, but the outbreak of the Second World War halted the plans.

1945 – 1972

The Potsdam conference defined the borders for communist Poland, which were very different from the pre-1939 ones. It received the so-called Regained Territories from the former Third Reich with the aforementioned motorway sections (some of them with first carriageway only). Most of the motorway bridges were destroyed by the warfare, but only a few were repaired or rebuilt in the first post-war years. The bridge over Ina river was reconstructed in 1972, and those on S22 only between 1996 and 2003.

Apart from the bridges, almost all the motorways were left in the same condition as they were in 1945 until the mid-1990s. The only road left from Nazi times that was completed by the People's Republic of Poland was a one-carriageway small section between Łęczyca and Lisowo (15 km of what is now DW142), which was built on the previous works of Nazis.

Plans

At the post-war year there were very ambitious plans to make a motorway network for the whole Poland. For example, engineer Eugeniusz Buszma has published his propositions to the network in the magazine "Drogowiec" (1946, issue 1):

1. East – West (Słubice – Warsaw – Białystok) – 680 km
2. North – South (Gdynia – Warsaw – Balkans) – 650 km
3. Silesia – Baltic I (Gdańsk – Łódź – Katowice) – 460 km
4. Pomeranian (Gdańsk – Szczecin) – 280 km
5. Silesian (Wrocław – Katowice – Kraków) – 190 km
6. Mazurian (Kaliningrad – Elbląg – Malbork) – 20 km
7. Silesia – Baltic II (Bydgoszcz – Wrocław) – 260 km
8. Łódź – Wrocław – (Prague) – 310 km
9. Katowice – (Vienna) – 60 km
10. Poznań – Szczecin – 200 km
11. Radom – Lublin – (Lviv) – 220 km

In total, the mileage, according to the proposal, would total more than 3,300 km (2,050 mi).

After the addition of the sections built by the Third Reich the total network length had to be approx. 3700 km. In 1963 the Motorization Council at the Council of Ministers had presented the similar plan plus the motorways: Warsaw-Kraków-Zakopane, Kraków-Przemyśl, Warsaw-Bydgoszcz-Koszalin, Poznań-Koszalin i Warsaw-Terespol (approx. 1250 km).

Despite announcing such pompous plans, no motorway was opened in the meantime.

In the 1970s

S6 in Gdynia, part of Tricity bypass: the oldest expressway in Poland (1st carriageway opened in 1977).

Only in the 1970s did any works start.

Plans

In 1972 it was planned to build:

• the Gliwice-Kraków motorway (now A4)
• the second carriageway of the Wrocław-Gliwice motorway (also A4)
• the Warsaw-Katowice motorway (so-called "Gierkówka", now the S8/A1 road), in the near future

The plans were expanded in 1976 by the following sections:

• Tarnów – Kraków (now A4),
• eastern GOP (Górnośląski Okręg Przemysłowy) bypass (now S1, northern part),
• Bielsko-Biała – Cieszyn (now S52, southern part),
• Warszawa – Poznań (so-called Olimpijka, now A2),
• Łódź – Piotrków Trybunalski (now A1).

In 1973 – 1976, "Gierkówka" dual carriageway from Warsaw to Katowice (281 km (175 mi)) was built. Originally planned as a motorway, it was in the end constructed by adding another carriageway to the existing road, hence going through many villages and crossing with local roads. The part from Piotrków Trybunalski to Częstochowa (78 km) was constructed on a new route in a motorway alignment, but nonetheless the majority of the crossings between the highway and the other roads were constructed as one-level intersections with no viaducts or overpasses.

Highway sections opened in the 1970s

Signage	Section	Length	Start of construction	Opening
	Piotrków Trybunalski – Częstochowa substandard (multiple at-grade intersections), constructed on motorway alignment, not signed as a highway	78 km (48 mi)	1973	1976
	Tri-city bypass (eastern carriageway) substandard (two at-grade intersections, then reconstructed when adding a second carriageway in the 1980s)	37.7 km (23.4 mi)	1973	1977
	Szczecin-Rzęśnica (end of post-German A6 motorway) – Goleniów substandard (two at-grade intersections)	19.3 km (12.0 mi)	1976	1979
Total		57 km (35.4 mi) of which 37.7 km (23.4 mi) single carriageway

In the 1980s

A4 near Zalas, opened in 1983 (photo after renovation in 2000)

Near the end of the 1970s the first construction of motorways started and continued to the next decade. The roads opened in the 1980s were the first motorways and expressways which generally meet the contemporary standards (at least with respect to their more important attributes), although in multiple cases the poor quality of their construction forced major renovations to be performed as soon as within the first 20 years of operation.

The major routes planned as motorways were A1, A2 and A4, while other main routes were planned as expressways. The implementation of these plans, however, came at a very slow pace: throughout the 1980s, only an average of 20 km (12 mi) of highways in the whole country were being opened per year.

Highway sections opened in the 1980s average: 20.5 km / year
Signage	Section	Length	Start of construction	Opening	Notes
	Tuszyn - Piotrków Trybunalski	16.1 km (10.0 mi)	1978	18 December 1989	Reconstructed 2019 – 2021
	Września - Konin	35.7 km (22.2 mi) (to Sługocin)	1977	9 October 1985	Renovated 2002 – 2003
		13.5 km (8.4 mi)	1986	10 November 1988
	Jaworzno - Kraków (Balice I)	29.6 km (18.4 mi) (Chrzanów - Kraków)	1976	3 January 1983	Renovated 1999 – 2000
		6.1 km (3.8 mi)	1978	22 November 1986
	Kraków bypass (section Balice I - Tyniec)	7.8 km (4.8 mi)	1979	8 December 1988
	Dąbrowa Górnicza - Tychy	34.7 km (21.6 mi)	1978	1983
	Tri-city bypass (to Straszyn)	32.4 km (20.1 mi)	1978	1984	Second carriageway
	Kielce bypass	22.9 km (14.2 mi)	1974	1984	First carriageway
	Katowice - Sosnowiec	6.8 km (4.2 mi)	1978	1985	First completely done expressway
Total		205.6 km (127.8 mi) of which 55.3 km (34.4 mi) single carriageway

In the 1990s

The highway network in 1990

In the III Republic of Poland, planned S3 was promoted to motorway A3 (the decision was later reversed) and a plan was introduced (also later reversed) of constructing motorway A8 Łódź – Wrocław – Bolków (now S8/A8/S5). Szczecin bypass (A6) and section Olszyna – Krzywa (then named A12, now A4/A18) were promoted to motorways, even though at that time the majority of their lengths was in bad shape, laid with the original concrete surface from the 1930s with no significant works having been performed on any of them throughout the whole communist period.

Highway sections opened in the 1990s average: 15 km / year
Signage	Section	Length	Start of construction	Opening	Notes
	Katowice - Jaworzno	15.9 km (9.9 mi) (Mysłowice - Jaworzno)	1986	4 September 1991	Northern carriageway was opened on 29 November 1990
		11.1 km (6.9 mi) (Katowice - Mysłowice)	1989	30 October 1996
		1.9 km (1.2 mi) (in Katowice)	?	10 November 1999
	Kraków bypass (section Tyniec - ul.Kąpielowa)	3.5 km (2.2 mi) (to Skawina)	1988	1993
		5.4 km (3.4 mi)	1993	27 October 1995	A4 had a crossroad with ul. Kąpielowa till 2002, when the bridge was built over it.
	- Zgorzelec	1.8 km (1.1 mi)	1992	15 July 1994
	Krzyżowa - Krzywa	10.2 km (6.3 mi)	?	1995	Renovated
	- Podjuchy	12.7 km (7.9 mi)	1996	1999	Renovated
	Olszyna - Królów	9.6 km (6.0 mi)	?	1993	Northern carriageway added and border bridges renovated
	Golnice - Krzyżowa	5.9 km (3.7 mi)		1995	Renovated both carriageways
	- Cieszyn-East	5.2 km (3.2 mi)	1991	1995
	Sulechów - Zielona Góra	26.8 km (16.7 mi)	1985	1995	Western carriageway only
	Świecie bypass	13 km (8.1 mi)	1994	1998	Single carriageway; dual carriageway near the interchanges
	Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki bypass	14.6 km (9.1 mi)	1990	1999
	Miłomłyn bypass	5.1 km (3.2 mi)	1995	1997	Eastern carriageway only
	Radzymin bypass	8.1 km (5.0 mi)	1996	1998
Total		151.8 km (94.3 mi) of which 28.8 km (17.9 mi) reconstructed, 48.4 km (30.1 mi) single carriageway

In the 2000s

The highway network in 2000

As of the beginning of 2000, the vast majority of national and international traffic routes were served by regular national roads with at-grade intersections and pedestrian crossings, most of them leading through the centres of cities, towns and villages, and most of them single carriageway. Only the following number of highways was present:

• about 275 km (171 mi) of modern dual-carriageway motorways and expressways (3.5% of the network as planned nowadays),
• about 90 km (56 mi) of single-carriageway expressways,
• about 125 km (78 mi) of not-resurfaced Nazi German motorways from the 1930s,
• about 150 km (93 mi) of not-resurfaced Nazi German motorways on sections where only the first carriageway had been constructed.

Before Poland received the EU membership

A4, Kraków southern bypass, opened in 2003

At the beginning of the 21st century, the tempo of highway construction started to increase. The main focus was on the west-east motorways A4 and A2. In 2002, a long-awaited renovation of the A4 from Krzywa to Wrocław (93 km) has started, which included laying new high quality surface in place of the Nazi German concrete slabs, reconstruction of all the pre-WWII bridges on the motorway and renovation of the viaducts above the motorway.

This is also the period when Poland started introducing motorway tolls, first in 2000 for the A4 section between Mysłowice and Kraków.

Highway sections opened in 2000 – 2003 average: 57 km / year
Signage	Section	Length	Start of construction	Opening	Notes
	Poznań Komorniki - Września	11.2 km (7.0 mi) (to Poznań Krzesiny)	1998	13 September 2003
		37.3 km (23.2 mi)	2002	27 November 2003
	Wrocław (Bielany) - Gliwice-West (Kleszczów)	34.1 km (21.2 mi) (to Brzeg)	1997	16 December 2000	Southern carriageway reconstructed, northern carriageway constructed
		56.6 km (35.2 mi) (to Opole-East)
		34.3 km (21.3 mi) (to Nogowczyce)		26 July 2001
		17.9 km (11.1 mi) (to Kleszczów)	2001	4 December 2003	Southern carriageway reconstructed, northern carriageway constructed
	Chorzów - Katowice Mikołowska	4.4 km (2.7 mi)	1998	2001
	Kraków bypass (section ul.Kąpielowa - Wieliczka)	7 km (4.3 mi)	2000	3 September 2003
	Śmigiel bypass	4.1 km (2.5 mi)	?	2002	First carriageway
	Straszyn - Rusocin	5.4 km (3.4 mi)	2000	2001	Second carriageway
	Białobrzegi bypass	7.7 km (4.8 mi)	2001	2003
	Ostrów Mazowiecka bypass	7.6 km (4.7 mi)	2000
Total		227.6 km (141.4 mi) of which 9.5 km (5.9 mi) single carriageway

Poland in European Union

A2, Poznań bypass, opened in 2004 (then widened to 2x3 in 2019)

The highway network in 2010

1 May 2004 was a crucial day for the history of motorway construction and that is when the length of highway constructions increased the most. One of the major advantages of signing the European Union access document was that Poland could get access to large funds for co-financing the construction of new roads and upgrades of the existing road infrastructure.

These years, the existing scattered pieces of highways began to converge into the basis of the future network:

• until 2004, Katowice and Kraków (linked by A4) were the only pair of Poland's largest cities connected by a highway;
• in 2005, A4 connected Wrocław with Katowice and Kraków, while in 2009 – with Germany;
• in 2006, A2 connected Poznań with Łódź.

A large number of expressway bypasses of towns were also constructed at this time. On many of them, only one carriageway was built, with the allocated space prepared for easy construction of the second carriageway later.

Highway sections opened in 2004 – 2010 average: 151 km / year
Signage	Section	Length	Start of construction	Opening	Notes
	Gdańsk (Rusocin) - Grudziądz	24.2 km (15.0 mi)	2005	2007
		64.7 km (40.2 mi)		2008
	Sośnica - Żory	15.6 km (9.7 mi)	22 January 2007	20 October 2009
		7.5 km (4.7 mi)	2007	15 December 2010
	Nowy Tomyśl - Poznań Komorniki	50.4 km (31.3 mi)	2002	October 2004
	Konin - Łódź (Stryków)	103.7 km (64.4 mi)	2004	July 2006
	Krzywa - Wrocław (Bielany)	93 km (57.8 mi)	2002	2004–2006 (in sections)	Renovated both carriageways
	Gliwice (Sośnica) - Chorzów Batory	15.7 km (9.8 mi)	2002	January 2005
	Gliwice bypass (Kleszczów - Sośnica)	19.1 km (11.9 mi)	2003	October 2005
	Zgorzelec - Krzyżowa	49.7 km (30.9 mi)	2006	August 2009
	Wieliczka - Targowisko	19.5 km (12.1 mi)	2007	2009
	Szczecin Klucz - Szczecin Kijewo	7.7 km (4.8 mi)	2005	2007	Renovated both carriageways
	Olszyna - Golnice	71.5 km (44.4 mi)	2004	2006	Constructed the northern carriageway alongside the pre-WWII southern carriageway
	- Zwardoń - Milówka	12.0 km (7.5 mi)	2002 - 2007	2004 - 2010 (in sections)	Single carriageway; then signed S69
	Żywiec - Przybędza	7.7 km (4.8 mi)	2005	2007
	Pyrzowice airport - Podwarpie	12.0 km (7.5 mi)	2005	2006	Single carriageway
	Szczecin – Gorzów Wielkopolski	81.6 km (50.7 mi)	2008	2010
	Gorzów Wielkopolski bypass	11.9 km (7.4 mi)	2003	2007	Single carriageway
	Międzyrzecz bypass	6.3 km (3.9 mi)	2004	2006
	Nowa Sól bypass	18 km (11.2 mi)	2006	2008
	Szubin bypass	4.5 km (2.8 mi)	2004	2006	Single carriageway
	Słupsk bypass	16.3 km (10.1 mi)	2008	2010	Single carriageway; dual carriageway near the interchanges
	Jędrzejów bypass	5.8 km (3.6 mi)	2003	2005	Partially (2.7 km) single carriageway
	Nowy Dwór Gdański bypass	2.5 km (1.6 mi)	2005	2007
	Elbląg bypass	4.2 km (2.6 mi)	2005	2007
	Grójec bypass	8.3 km (5.2 mi)	18 October 2006	19 September 2008
	Białobrzegi - Jedlińsk	15.7 km (9.8 mi)	6 July 2006	30 June 2008
	Myślenice - Lubień	16.2 km (10.1 mi)	2004	2009
	Kielce bypass (northern part)	7.1 km (4.4 mi)	2007	2009
	Płońsk bypass	4.7 km (2.9 mi)	28 September 2007	3 June 2009
	Skurów – Białobrzegi	17.8 km (11.1 mi)	2007	2010
	Kraków eastern bypass (first fragment)	2.8 km (1.7 mi)	2007	2010
	Oleśnica bypass	7.2 km (4.5 mi)	2004	2006
	Wyszków bypass	12.8 km (8.0 mi)	27 February 2006	14 November 2008
	Wyszków - Radzymin	17.3 km (10.7 mi)	8 December 2006	31 July 2009
	Wrocław - Kobierzyce	7 km (4.3 mi)	2007	31 December 2010
	Toruń bypass (fragment)	12.4 km (7.7 mi)	2004	2005	Single carriageway
	Kobylanka bypass	13.8 km (8.6 mi)	2005	2007	Partially (7 km) single carriageway
	Stargard bypass	13.5 km (8.4 mi)	2008	2009
	Bydgoszcz bypass (fragment)	10.4 km (6.5 mi)	2008	2009
	Wyrzysk bypass	7.8 km (4.8 mi)	2008	2009	Single carriageway
	Poznań - Kórnik	14.1 km (8.8 mi)	2006	2009
	Ostrów Wlkp. bypass (northern part)	6.1 km (3.8 mi)	2008	2009	Single carriageway
	Piaski bypass	4 km (2.5 mi)	2002	2004
	Puławy bypass	12.7 km (7.9 mi)	2005	2007	Partially (8.7 km) single carriageway
	Barczewo – Biskupiec	20.1 km (12.5 mi)	2008	2010	Single carriageway
	Garwolin bypass	12.8 km (8.0 mi)	2005	2007
	Międzyrzec Podlaski bypass	6.3 km (3.9 mi)	2005	2008	Single carriageway
	Elbląg - Grzechotki / Kaliningrad Oblast	51.6 km (32.1 mi)	April 2006	December 2008	Single carriageway; constructed in place of a partially destroyed motorway from the 1930s
	Cieszyn - Bielsko-Biała (Komorowice)	28 km (17.4 mi)	2002 - 2005	2005 - 2007 (in sections)	Then signed S1
Total		1,055.6 km (655.9 mi) of which 276.6 km (171.9 mi) single carriageway, 100.7 km (62.6 mi) reconstructed

2011 – 2015

In the five years from 2011 to 2015, 1563 kilometers of motorways and expressways were opened – about as much as in the whole prior history of highway construction combined. The main focus was on developing connections between Poland's largest cities, especially those serving as host venues of UEFA Euro 2012, as well as on extending A4 towards Ukraine.

Rędziński bridge on A8, Wrocław bypass, opened in 2011

S8 in Warsaw, opened in 2015

Length of highways opened in 2011 – 2015

Year	Length	Notes
2011	313 km (194 mi)
2012	639 km (397 mi)	Of which 195 km (121 mi) were opened before Euro 2012 championship
2013	298 km (185 mi)
2014	279 km (173 mi)
2015	34 km (21 mi)
Total	1,563 km (971 mi)	Of which 26 km first carriageway, 23 km second carriageway

The sections opened in 2011 – 2015 belonged to the following highways:

• : 273 km (A1 on the section Gdańsk – Łódź was completed in 2014)
• : 234 km (A2 on the section Germany – Warsaw was completed in 2012)
• : 88 km (S3 on the section Szczecin – A2 – Zielona Góra was completed in 2013, except that its older single-carriageway parts remained so until 2017)
• : 183 km
• : 138 km
• : 365 km (S8 on the section Wrocław – Łódź was completed in 2014)
• : 282 km in total

2016 – 2020

After the peak of investments before Euro 2012, very few new contracts for road construction were signed in 2012 and 2013. This resulted in a small number of sections being opened in 2015 and 2016, a large share of which were the last delayed fragments originally scheduled for a Euro 2012 opening. In particular:

• In 2016, the last delayed fragment of between Kraków and Ukraine was opened, making A4 the first major Polish highway completed on its whole length, as well as the first complete border-to-border highway connection.
• Also in 2016, the delayed bypass of Łódź was finished, making completed on its whole route except for those sections where national road 1 had already been a dual carriageway (see In the 1970s), allowing for a significantly lower priority of constructing the remaining stretch compared to other highways.

Since 2014, the number of signed contracts has risen again, resulting in the number of road openings having risen again since 2017.

Bridge over Vistula on S7, Kraków eastern bypass, opened in 2017

The highway network in 2020

Length of highways opened in 2016 – 2020

Year	Length	Notes
2016	123 km (76 mi)
2017	295 km (183 mi)
2018	318 km (198 mi)
2019	410 km (255 mi)
2020	135 km (84 mi)
Total	1,281 km (796 mi)	Of which 13 km first carriageway, 81 km second carriageway

The sections opened in 2016 – 2020 belonged to the following highways:

• : 173 km
• : 227 km (S5 on the section Poznań – Wrocław was completed in 2019)
• : 128 km (S6 on the section Szczecin – Koszalin was completed in 2019)
• : 213 km
• : 128 km (S8 was completed in 2019 on its originally intended route from Wrocław to Białystok; an extension to Kłodzko was later added to the plans)
• : 97 km (S17 on the section Warsaw – Lublin was completed in 2020)
• : 315 km in total (A4 was completed in 2016)

2021 – present

The high tempo of highway development continued in the 2020s. The main focus was on construction of new highways in the less populated eastern Poland, including the international routes Via Carpatia and Via Baltica.

The tunnel section of S2 in Warsaw, opened in 2021

Length of highways opened, or to be opened, in 2021 – 2025
Year	Length	Notes
2021	375 km (233 mi)
2022	267 km (166 mi)
2023	245 km (152 mi)
2024	123 km (76 mi)	Sections already opened, planned opening of S7 and S52
2025	430 km (267 mi)	Ongoing constructions expected to be finished in 2025
Total	1,435 km (892 mi)	Of which 7 km first carriageway, 111 km second carriageway

The sections opened, or planned to get opened, in 2021 – 2025 belong to the following highways:

• : 81 km (A1 was completed in 2022)
• : 106 km
• : 104 km (S3 is scheduled to get completed in 2025)
• : 200 km (S6/A6 is scheduled to get completed in 2025 on its original route from Germany to Gdańsk; western bypass of Szczecin will be constructed later as an alternative route)
• : 191 km (S7 on the section Warsaw – Kraków is scheduled to get completed in 2025)
• : 80 km
• : 70 km (reconstruction of the second carriageway of A18 was completed in 2023)
• : 210 km (S19 "Via Carpathia" on the section Lublin – Rzeszów was completed in 2022, except that its older fragment with 2 1 lanes will remain so until 2026)
• : 183 km (S61 "Via Baltica" was opened on the whole length in 2024, the second carriageway is scheduled to get completed in 2025)
• : 210 km in total (S5 was completed in 2022 except its newly planned extensions to Ostróda and Bolków)

Total length of highways by year

Year	Length of motorways and expressways (end of the year)
1936 (then Nazi Germany)	92 km
1937 (then Nazi Germany)	104 km and 38 km first carriageway
1938–1945 (then Nazi Germany)	133 km and 135 km first carriageway (further below not considered as a motorway until addition of the second carriageway)
1939–1945 (Poland)	28 km (today not considered as a highway)
1945–1976	133 km
1977	169 km
1978	169 km
1979	190 km
1980	190 km
1981	190 km
1982	190 km
1983	255 km
1984	278 km
1985	321 km
1986	327 km
1987	327 km
1988	348 km
1989	366 km
1990	381 km
1991	399 km
1992	399 km
1993	403 km
1994	405 km
1995	440 km
1996	453 km
1997	456 km
1998	490 km
1999	502 km
2000	592 km
2001	630 km
2002	639 km
2003	727 km
2004	781 km
2005	848 km
2006	1013 km
2007	1083 km
2008	1282 km
2009	1454 km
2010	1560 km
2011	1865 km
2012	2495 km
2013	2805 km
2014	3100 km
2015	3131 km
2016	3252 km
2017	3510 km
2018	3811 km
2019	4214 km
2020	4337 km
2021	4690 km
2022	4933 km
2023	5116 km
2024	5231 km (forecast)
2025	5695 km (forecast)
2026	5964 km (forecast)
2027	6158 km (forecast)
2028	6543 km (forecast)
2029	approx. 6600 km (plans)
2030	approx. 6800 km (plans)
2031	approx. 7000 km (plans)
2035	approx. 8000 km (plans)
After 2035	approx. 8200 km – full network (plans)

See also

• Classes and categories of public roads in Poland
• Transport in Poland § Road transport
• List of controlled-access highway systems
• Evolution of motorway construction in European nations

External links

• General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (in Polish, some information also in English)