Autostrada A1 (Poland)

Infobox European road
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eroad=
length_km=42.5
plalength=582 km
starting_terminus=
junction= (planned)
(planned)


(planned)
(planned)

junction (planned)
(planned)
ending_terminus=
countries=Poland
regions=
cities=Gdańsk, Toruń, Łódź, Częstochowa, Gliwice The A1 motorway in Poland is a planned motorway which, when completed, will run from north to south through central Poland, from Gdańsk on the Baltic Sea through Łódź and the Upper Silesian Industry Area (Gliwice) to the Polish-Czech border in Gorzyczki (Wodzisław County) /Věřňovice (Karviná District), where it will connect with the Czech motorway D1. The highway will be a part of the European route E75.

Only about 42.5 km of the motorway has been completed to this day. Out of completed sections, 17.5 km was built between 1978 and 1989 (near Łódź) and does not meet full motorway standards, i.e. there are at-grade intersections. A 25 km section was opened December 22, 2007 near Gdansk, extending the S6 bypass motorway. Additional 65 km of the northern part are to be opened in 2008 (see link below). Construction of a 15,5 km section from Sośnica to Bełk , part of the southernmost section from the junction with the A4 motorway at Sośnica near Gliwice to the Czech border, began on March 26, 2007. Some parts of the future motorway will be constructed by upgrading already existing roads: the Toruń bypass and a part of the Warsaw-Katowice road (section from Piotrków Trybunalski and Częstochowa), with both sections originally built with some highway features to make such an upgrade relatively straightforward. The total length of the motorway is planned to be 582 km. When Jarosław Kaczyński was prime minister, statements from government officials indicated a firm commitment for accelerating the construction schedule, with completion of the whole highway achieved in 2010. That plan was too optimistic, but according to current plans significant stretches of the highway will be opened by 2011.

External links

* [http://mapa.szukacz.pl/?x=540745&y=401523&t=WYBRANY%20PUNKT&z=4 Map of the existing stretch of A1, near Łódź, via mapa.szukacz.pl]
* [http://www.siskom.waw.pl/euro2012/drogi2008.gifCurrent construction (red) of A1 in preparation for Euro2012]