Expressway S61 (Poland)

Expressway S61 or express road S61 is a Polish highway which is going to run from Ostrów Mazowiecka (separating from express road S8) to the Polish-Lithuanian border near Budzisko (continuing as the Lithuanian A5 highway).

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Expressway S61
Droga ekspresowa S61
Route information
Length166 km (103 mi)
218.39 km (136 mi) total planned length
Major junctions
From S 8 near Ostrów Mazowiecka
To A 5 Budzisko, Polish-Lithuanian border
Location
CountryPoland
Highway system
← S 52→ S 74

The road is part of the strategically important Via Baltica, the segment from Tallinn to Warsaw of the European route E67 connecting the Baltic States with the rest of Europe through the exposed Suwałki corridor. Its north-eastern end is also part of the planned Via Carpathia. Across the Lithuanian border the preexisting A5 highway to Kaunas is being upgraded into a divided highway with grade-separated junctions bringing it to the same standard as the expressway.

As of August 2023, 166 km (103 mi) of the route are open to traffic, while the remaining 52 km (32 mi) are under construction.

The contracts for designing and building the expressway signed in 2017 and 2018 assumed the completion of the whole road by the end of 2021,[1] but parts of it got significantly delayed. The entire route is planned to be completed by 2025.

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. The second carriageway was opened in August 2021.[2]

The second section to open was part of the bypass of Augustów (12 km), opened to traffic in November 2014 as a dual carriageway road.

The third section was the bypass of Szczuczyn (8 km) opened in November 2015 as a single carriageway road. The second carriageway was opened in May 2020.[3]

The fourth section was the bypass of Suwałki (13 km), opened in April 2019 as a dual carriageway road.[4]

The fifth section (17 km long) was the connection between Śniadowo and Łomża (excluding the bypass of Łomża), opened to traffic in July 2021 as a dual carriageway road.

The sixth section (53 km long) was the connection between Szczuczyn and Kolno, opened in July and August 2021 as a dual carriageway road (which also included reconstruction of the existing bypass of Stawiski and addition of the second carriageway).

The seventh section (20 km long) was the connection between Wysokie and Raczki, opened in December 2021 as a dual carriageway road.

The eighth section (23 km long) was the connection between Szczuczyn and Ełk Południe, opened in September 2022 as a dual carriageway road.

The ninth section (24 km long) was the connection between Suwałki and the Lithuanian border at Budzisko, opened in December 2022 as a dual carriageway road.

The tenth section (24 km long) was the connection between Ełk Południe and Wysokie opened in August 2023 as a dual carriageway road,[5] completing the segment of the road running through the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship.

Under construction

Two sections of the road remain under construction:

  • a 13 km segment from Łomża Zachód to Kolno in the Podlaskie Voivodeship which will form the bypass of Łomża, the first carriageway planned to open in mid 2024, while the second carriageway – in mid 2025,
  • a 20 km long segment from Ostrów Mazowiecka Północ with a junction with the S8 expressway to Śniadowo in the Masovian Voivodeship, scheduled to open in October 2023.

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.[6] 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 minimize its environmental impact on protected areas of the wetlands of the Rospuda river valley and the Augustów Primeval Forest in northeastern Poland.[7]

Exit list
CountryVoivodeshipLocationkmmiExitNameDestinationsNotes
PolandMazovian VoivodeshipGmina Ostrów Mazowiecka—Podborze S 8( E67) – Warsaw/BiałystokSouthwestern endpoint of motorway

Kilometrage starting point

Western terminus of E67 continues towards Warsaw
—Komorowo DW 627 – Ostrów Mazowiecka/Ostrołęka
DW 677 – Łomża
Gmina Czerwin3Śniadowo DW 677 – Ostrów Mazowiecka/ŁomżaExit number as part of "experimental signage"
Podlaskie VoivodeshipGmina Łomża4Łomża Południe DK 63 – ZambrówSouth-west end of DK63 overlap
Exit number as part of "experimental signage"
—Łomża Zachód DK 61 – Ostrołęka/Łomża
—Nowogród DW 645 – Nowogród/Łomża
—Łomża Północ DK 64 – Białystok
8Kolno DK 63 – KolnoNorth end of DK63 overlap
Exit number as part of "experimental signage"
Gmina Stawiski9Stawiski DW 647 – Stawiski/KolnoExit number as part of "experimental signage"
Gmina Grabowo10GrabowoGrabowoExit number as part of "experimental signage"
Gmina Szczuczyn11Szczuczyn DK 58 – Szczuczyn/PiszExit number as part of "experimental signage"
12Guty DW 665 – Grajewo/Augstów
Warmian-Masurian VoivodeshipGmina Ełk13Ełk Południe DK 65 – Ełk/BiałystokOverlap with DK 65 starts
14Ełk Wschód S 16 / DK 65 – Ełk/OlsztynOverlap with DK 65 ends, DK 16 starts
Gmina Kalinowo15Kalinowo DK 16 – Ełk/AugustówOverlap with DK 16 ends
Podlaskie VoivodeshipGmina Raczki16Raczki DK 8( E67) – Białystok/Raczki
Gmina Suwałki17Suwałki Południe DW 655 – Suwałki/OleckoExit number as part of "experimental signage"
Suwałki18Suwałki Zachód DW 653 – Suwałki/OleckoExit number as part of "experimental signage"
—Suwałki Północ DW 662 – Suwałki
Gmina Szypliszki—Szypliszki DW 651 – Gołdap/Sejny
—Lithuania–Poland border A 5Border with Lithuania
road continues as the Lithuanian A5
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Concurrency terminus
  •       Proposed
  •       Route transition

See also

References
  1. https://pap-mediaroom.pl/biznes-i-finanse/mi-umowa-na-ostatni-odcinek-trasy-baltica-podpisana-komunikat
  2. GDDKiA announcement
  3. "Dwoma pasami obwodnicy Szczuczyna. Kolejny fragment S61 gotowy".
  4. Via Baltica. Obwodnica Suwałk otwarta, Gazeta Wyborcza, 11 April 2019
  5. "Via Baltica coraz bliżej ukończenia. S61 na Mazurach w komplecie". (in Polish)
  6. Dz.U. 2009 nr 187 poz. 1446 Polish government regulation on expressways network (in Polish)
  7. 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
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