The A2 motorway in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, officially named the Motorway of Freedom (), is a
motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
which runs from the
Polish-German border (connecting to
A12 autobahn
The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'.
Much of t ...
near
Świecko
Świecko () is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Słubice, Lubusz Voivodeship, Gmina Słubice, within Słubice County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland, close to Frankfurt an der Oder on the Germany, German border. It lies app ...
/
Frankfurt an der Oder
Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Marchian dialects, Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With a ...
), through
Poznań
Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
and
Łódź
Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
to
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
and, in the future, to the
Polish-Belarusian border (connecting to
M1 highway near
Terespol
Terespol (; ) is a border town in eastern Poland on the border with Belarus. It lies on the border river Bug, directly opposite the city of Brest, Belarus. It has 5,794 inhabitants as of 2014.
Overview
Since 1999 Terespol has been within Bia� ...
/
Brest).
It is a part of
European route E30
European route E30 is an A-Class European route from the port of Cork (city), Cork in Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the west to the Russian city of Omsk, near the border with Kazakhstan in the east. For much of the Russian stretch, it follow ...
.
The motorway between the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
border and
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
() was constructed between 2001 and 2012 (the first fragment of length was originally built between 1977 and 1988 and renovated to modern standards during the construction of the remaining sections). Most of the stretch from the border to
Konin
Konin () is a city in central Poland, on the Warta River. It is the capital of Konin County and is located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. In 2021 the population of the city was 71,427, making it the fourth-largest city in Greater Poland af ...
is
tolled (see
Tolls).
Eastwards from Warsaw, A2 is being gradually extended. The first segment of this section was the bypass of
Mińsk Mazowiecki
Mińsk Mazowiecki (, ) is a town in eastern Poland with 40,999 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship and is a part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. It is the capital of Mińsk County. Located 20 kilometers from the city li ...
, which opened in August 2012. The second segment between
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
and
Mińsk Mazowiecki
Mińsk Mazowiecki (, ) is a town in eastern Poland with 40,999 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship and is a part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. It is the capital of Mińsk County. Located 20 kilometers from the city li ...
was completed in 2020, followed by the section from
Mińsk Mazowiecki
Mińsk Mazowiecki (, ) is a town in eastern Poland with 40,999 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship and is a part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. It is the capital of Mińsk County. Located 20 kilometers from the city li ...
to
Siedlce
Siedlce () ( ) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants ().
The city is situated between two small rivers, the Muchawka and the Helenka, and lies along the European route E30, around east of Warsaw. It is ...
completed in 2024. The section from Siedlce to
Biała Podlaska
Biała Podlaska (; ) is a city in the Lublin Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 56,498 inhabitants It is the capital of Biała Podlaska County, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The city lies on ...
is under construction and is planned to get completed by 2025.
The section from Biała Podlaska to
Małaszewicze Cargo Terminal () is under tender, expected to be finished by 2029. The last segment to the Belarusian border () is under design, but its planned construction has been postponed due to the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.
A2 does not formally run through Warsaw itself, instead turning into
expressway S2 (constructed between 2010 and 2021).
The motorway also does not technically reach the border with Germany as its endpoint is marked near the ''Świecko'' interchange ca. away from the border, although the remaining section is also a dual-carriageway road mostly up to the motorway standard.
Route
History of construction
The first highway planned along part of this route was a ''
Reichsautobahn
The system was the beginning of the German autobahns under Nazi Germany. There had been previous plans for controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traf ...
'' initiated by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
to connect Berlin with Poznań (Posen). The construction of this highway, accelerated after
Poznań was incorporated into Germany following the
Invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
in 1939, was interrupted by the war and never finished, but traces of its earthworks were clearly visible on satellite photographs for decades afterwards, especially between the border with Germany and
Nowy Tomyśl
Nowy Tomyśl is a town in western Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the capital of Nowy Tomyśl County. The population is 15,627 (2004).
History
The town has a long tradition of wickerwork. In the main town square stands a wicker b ...
. Most of these traces have now disappeared as the modern motorway was built largely following the same route. A short stretch of the uncompleted highway between the border and
Rzepin
Rzepin () is a town in western Poland. Situated in the Lubusz Voivodeship (since 1999), in Słubice County it is the seat of Gmina Rzepin. From 1975 until 1998 the town, from an administrative point of view, belonged to the Gorzów Wielkopolski Vo ...
was finished as a dual carriageway road after 1945, in effect forming an extension of the German
A 12 highway (opened as a ''Reichsautobahn'' in the 1930s). Except for this stretch, the construction work was not continued in the decades after the war.
New plans to build the A2 motorway were seriously formulated in communist Poland in the 1970s, possibly with the goal of completing it in time for the
Moscow Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...
in 1980. Because of the economic crisis which hit the country in the late 1970s and continued throughout the 1980s, only a section from
Września
Września () is a town in west-central Poland near Poznań, with 28,600 inhabitants (1995). It is situated in the Września County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, on the Wrześnica River.
History
Września was first mentioned in 1256 in a docume ...
to
Konin
Konin () is a city in central Poland, on the Warta River. It is the capital of Konin County and is located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. In 2021 the population of the city was 71,427, making it the fourth-largest city in Greater Poland af ...
was opened in the 1980s. Construction of another stretch (between Łódź and Warsaw) was started and then abandoned, leaving an interesting ruin informally named ''
Olimpijka'', which was in turn demolished around 2010 when building of the motorway resumed.
Intensive construction of the motorway started only in 2001 after the
fall of communism in Poland
Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemispher ...
in 1989. Out of the planned total length of , have been completed. A section of about (
Nowy Tomyśl
Nowy Tomyśl is a town in western Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the capital of Nowy Tomyśl County. The population is 15,627 (2004).
History
The town has a long tradition of wickerwork. In the main town square stands a wicker b ...
–
Poznań
Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
–
Września
Września () is a town in west-central Poland near Poznań, with 28,600 inhabitants (1995). It is situated in the Września County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, on the Wrześnica River.
History
Września was first mentioned in 1256 in a docume ...
–
Konin
Konin () is a city in central Poland, on the Warta River. It is the capital of Konin County and is located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. In 2021 the population of the city was 71,427, making it the fourth-largest city in Greater Poland af ...
) has been fully open since 2004. This section is a
toll road
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...
, with the exception of a short stretch through Poznań which serves as that city's bypass (between the interchanges at
Głuchowo and
Kleszczewo). An additional section from
Konin
Konin () is a city in central Poland, on the Warta River. It is the capital of Konin County and is located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. In 2021 the population of the city was 71,427, making it the fourth-largest city in Greater Poland af ...
to
Stryków
Stryków is a town in central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, in Zgierz County. It has 3,428 inhabitants (2020). It is located within the historic Łęczyca Land.
History Early history
The first mention of Stryków was in 1387. Stryków was a v ...
near
Łódź
Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
was opened on 26 July 2006. A short bypass of Stryków, consisting of a 2 km (1.2 mi) extension of the A2 and a provisional single carriageway section of the future
A1 motorway, was opened in December 2008, to ease the heavy traffic in that town generated when the motorway reached it.
As of the winter of 2009/2010, the plan was to finish the whole section between the border with
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and Warsaw by the spring of 2012, giving the Polish capital its first motorway connection to the European motorway network in time for the
Euro 2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
football championships. That ambitious goal was jeopardized due to various difficulties encountered in finalizing the construction contracts and the delays that resulted. The section from
Stryków
Stryków is a town in central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, in Zgierz County. It has 3,428 inhabitants (2020). It is located within the historic Łęczyca Land.
History Early history
The first mention of Stryków was in 1387. Stryków was a v ...
to Warsaw was to be built in a
public-private partnership, but the negotiations between the government and private companies interested in participating collapsed in February 2009 due to disputes over financing terms. It was then decided that this section of the motorway would be built using public funds alone. The new bidding process was started on 27 March, and the contracts for design and construction of the road were signed on 28 September. The section had been divided into 5 parts and so construction work began in 2010. The contractors were required to have the motorway open to traffic in time for Euro 2012. This goal was an ambitious one and ultimately proved challenging, given the possibility of unexpected delays during construction and the fact that the
Chinese consortium abandoned the project less than a year later, so that new contractors had to be selected to replace it. The goal was to have this motorway stretch provisionally opened to traffic in time for Euro 2012, even if it is not fully completed, with various restrictions such as a lower speed limit to ensure safety. For a while it was not clear whether even this limited goal would be reached, but the motorway opened to traffic in June 2012 after very intensive construction work in the final few months.
In November 2011, construction of the stretch from the German border to Nowy Tomyśl had been completed. The road was opened to public traffic on 1 December. Toll plazas on this stretch of the highway weren't opened until May 2012 so use of the western section of the A2 was free of charge until then.
In May 2013, the interchange with the
S3 (
Jordanowo) was opened to traffic. First stretch is between the interchange with the A2 motorway and the Świebodzin North interchange. In June 2013, the
S3 was extended further and opened to traffic to reach from the Świebodzin South interchange to the existing stretch of the
S3 expressway at
Sulechów
Sulechów (pronounced , ) is a town located within the Zielona Góra County, in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the administrative seat of the Gmina Sulechów. Established in the Middle Ages, the town features many historical monuments ...
. In July 2013, the elevated bypass of
Świebodzin
Świebodzin (; ) is a town in western Poland with 20,744 inhabitants (2024). It is the capital of Świebodzin County in Lubusz Voivodeship.
Świebodzin is an important transportation hub, lying at the crossroads of the Polish National roads in P ...
between the interchanges of Świebodzin North and Świebodzin South fully opened to traffic thus fully extending the
S3 from
Szczecin
Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...
to
Sulechów
Sulechów (pronounced , ) is a town located within the Zielona Góra County, in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the administrative seat of the Gmina Sulechów. Established in the Middle Ages, the town features many historical monuments ...
.
Guarantee scandal
After
COVEC withdrew from completing its construction of the A2,
Bank of China
The Bank of China (BOC; ; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Banco da China'') is a state-owned Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Beijing, Beijing, China. It is one of ...
was to pay a performance guarantee to the Polish government's roads organization
GDDKiA. However, with
Export-Import Bank of China, they refused to pay this; only
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
...
honored its obligations under the court decision.
Plans
The eastern section from Warsaw to the border crossing with Belarus at
Kukuryki
Kukuryki is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Terespol, within Biała Podlaska County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It lies approximately north of Terespol, east of Biała Podlaska, and ...
near
Brest (connecting with
M1), about in length, is largely under construction. The decision finalizing the route of this section was announced in December 2011, the exception having been a short section of A2 forming the bypass of
Mińsk Mazowiecki
Mińsk Mazowiecki (, ) is a town in eastern Poland with 40,999 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship and is a part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. It is the capital of Mińsk County. Located 20 kilometers from the city li ...
which was constructed between August 2009 and August 2012. The section between
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
and Mińsk Mazowiecki was opened in 2020.
The longest section from
Mińsk Mazowiecki
Mińsk Mazowiecki (, ) is a town in eastern Poland with 40,999 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship and is a part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. It is the capital of Mińsk County. Located 20 kilometers from the city li ...
to
Biała Podlaska
Biała Podlaska (; ) is a city in the Lublin Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 56,498 inhabitants It is the capital of Biała Podlaska County, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The city lies on ...
() is in realization (
design-build contracts) and is planned to get completed by 2024.
The last segment to the Belarusian border () is under design.
It is worth noting that the A2 motorway doesn't actually run through Warsaw, as the inhabitants of the districts through which it was to pass have successfully blocked its construction. This outcome was somewhat unusual, since the corridor for the motorway has been reserved by the city planners since the 1970s and kept free of construction. Instead, the traffic is rerouted through two ''express roads'' (
S2 and
S8), of lower standard than the originally planned motorway. One of these roads (S2) runs along the originally planned motorway corridor. In the most affected area, the district of
Ursynów
Ursynów () is a district of the city of Warsaw, Poland. It has an area of 43.79 km2 (16.88 sq mi), and in 2023, it was inhabited by 149,775 people, making it the 5th most populous and 3rd largest district of the city. Located in its western ...
, the express road runs in a
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
, built at considerable expense.
Route description
See also
*
Highways in Poland
Controlled-access highways in Poland are part of the National roads in Poland, national roads network and they are divided into motorways and Controlled-access highway, expressways. Both types of highways feature grade-separated Interchang ...
*
European route E30
European route E30 is an A-Class European route from the port of Cork (city), Cork in Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the west to the Russian city of Omsk, near the border with Kazakhstan in the east. For much of the Russian stretch, it follow ...
References
External links
Official page of the toll companyPage about the planned road network through Warsaw Official page for the construction of Mińsk Mazowiecki – Siedlce segmentOfficial page for the construction of Siedlce – Biała Podlaska segment
{{Polish highways
Proposed roads in Poland
Motorways in Poland
Constituent roads of European route E30