On 21 December 2018, in the presence of Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk, a contract was signed for the design and construction of the S19 expressway from the Kamień junction to the Sokołów Małopolski Północ junction with a length of 8 km. This means that all sections of the Via Carpatia route between Lublin and Sokołów Małopolski with a total length of over 131 km are now under construction.
The contractor for the S19 section located in the communes of Sokołów Małopolski and Kamień is Budimex SA. The gross value of the contract amounts to PLN 286.4 million. The investment is to be completed within 34 months including winter breaks at the stage of construction works. The contractor's task will be to develop the design, obtain a permit for the road investment, construct the road together with engineering structures and accompanying infrastructure, develop as-built documentation and obtain an occupancy permit.
Under the project, a dual carriageway expressway with two lanes in each direction will be built, as well as road junctions Kamień and Sokołów Małopolski Północ. Service areas in Górno East and Górno West will also be built, as well as roads to service local traffic. It is also planned to build 10 engineering structures and the accompanying infrastructure, including environmental protection equipment.
The idea of creating Via Carpatia route was initiated in 2006 in Lancut by the Ministers of Transport of Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary under the patronage of President Lech Kaczyński. The Government Programme for the Construction of National Roads 2014-2023 (with an outlook to 2025) indicates the construction of this connection as the main investment priority. Ultimately, the Via Carpatia route will connect Baltic countries with the countries of the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea region. In Podkarpacie it will have a length of 169 km, and its entire course has secured financing.
S19 in progress
Currently, about 30 km of the S19 expressway near Rzeszów have been put into service in the Podkarpackie Province. Over 54 km of this route from the border of the Lubelskie Voivodeship to Sokołów Małopolski is under construction. For 5 sections of the Via Carpatia route from the Rzeszów Południe junction to the border in Barwinek, with a total length of over 85 km, programming concepts are being developed.
77 km of the S19 road in the Lublin region, from Lublin to the border of the Subcarpathian voivodship, is also under construction. For the 35-km-long section from Kraśnik to the border of the Podkarpacie Province, the contractors have already applied for ZRID decisions. It is planned to submit ZRID applications for the 42-kilometre-long section from Lublin to Kraśnik still in December.
text: Ministry of Infrastructure
