Polish drivers may be in for some relief after years of putting up with poor roads. The country is planning to invest zl.80 billion in road transportation by 2013.


The Polish Technology Platform of Road Transportation, a consortium of companies and transportation research institutions, will be overseeing the implementation of new technologies.

The government is planning to modernize and expand Poland's road infrastructure between 2007 and 2013 at a cost of zl.80 billion. The freeway and expressway system is planned to cover 4,700 km, of which 768 km, or 16 percent, has been completed. Last year saw the construction of 265.5 km of freeways, 49.2 km of expressways and 40 km of beltways, while 143.6 km of road was either replaced or upgraded. Ten percent of the national road system was improved last year with 2,093 km of road being resurfaced at a cost of around zl.2.2 billion, according to the Ministry of Transportation.

Progress has been noticeably slower this year with just under 7 km of freeway built so far. This may be why the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) is considerably more keen to discuss the future than the present. Future priorities include constructing and modernizing the A1, A2 and A4 freeways and the S3, S8 and S19 expressways. Road transportation will be allocated zl.20.8 billion in 2008, zl.31-32 billion in 2009 and 2010, zl.23.2 billion in 2011, and zl.13.2 billion in 2012. A total of 178 km of freeway was under construction at the end of September, and tenders have been called to build a further 403 km, according to GDDKiA Director-General Zbigniew Kotlarek. Construction will commence on another 642 km next year. If all goes to plan then the condition of Poland's roads will improve permanently and, more importantly, quickly. But whether any of this comes to pass is an open question.

Something is rotten in the state of Poland

Poland extended its coverage of hard-surface road by a mere 15.52 percent between 1990 and 2005, from 218,400 km to 252,300 km-despite the grandiose plans announced by successive governments during that time. The country had 552 km of freeway in early 2005, compared with 212 km in 1990. More than 1,200 km of freeway was supposed to have been built by 2005 under government plans to modernize the road network. The condition of Poland's roads did improve a little though; only 55 percent of road surface was rated as poor or unsatisfactory in 2005, compared with 76 percent in 1990.

Had EU standards been adhered to, nearly half of Poland's national roads would have been closed to traffic in 2005 on account of potholes and ruts. Freeways only made up 0.21 percent of Poland's hard-surface roads, compared with ten times that figure in the "old" EU. Almost a quarter of Poland's bridges and overpasses were in a poor technical state at the beginning of 2005, and this situation is unlikely to change as long as local governments continue to lack the necessary funds.

Poland forks out a staggering 2.5 percent of its GDP to cover the costs of road accidents either brought on or exacerbated by the poor condition of its roads and the increasing volume of vehicular traffic they're carrying.

Enter the Platform

The Polish Technological Platform of Road Transportation intends to reverse this sorry situation. The Platform was set up by 21 companies and institutions interested in expanding and modernizing Poland's road infrastructure. These include road construction companies and companies that provide new technology to the transportation industry. The latter group wants to incorporate new technologies based on byproducts and industrial waste and is also keen to accelerate and monitor the process by devising new methods of managing a project's every phase from design to implementation.

Poland's roads can comply with EU standards if new materials are used in their construction, according to Dr. Andrzej Urbanik, secretary-general of the Polish Technological Platform of Road Transportation. "All newly constructed hard-surface roads meet the EU load capacity requirement of 115 kN per axle," he says. "The condition of existing roads is also improving through modernization. These previously had a maximum load capacity of 80-100 kN per axle."

The Platform's member companies are developing ways of recycling road and bridge components and diagnosing the condition of road surfaces. Diagnostic systems can assist in building deterioration models for roads and bridges by analyzing such factors as meteorological and environmental conditions and real-time traffic flow. The Platform is also working on a method for using bridges to weigh moving trucks.

An intelligent traffic management system deploying sensors and surveillance is one of the Platform's most ambitious projects. The system would have a Central Transportation Database and employ electronic data gathering and traffic management. The data would be collected from the System of Meteorological Protection of Roads, pollution sensors, data links from the long-distance rail and bus networks, the transportation management system and the accident notification system. All this will enable integrated, real-time control of flow, speed, traffic lights and variable message signs, while ensuring priority for municipal bus transportation and updating information for drivers and travelers. The Platform's member companies are already implementing several safety measures, including systems to audit individual roads and entire projects.

Marek Mejssner


PPTTD member companies:

1. Instytut Badawczy Dróg i Mostów
03-301 Warszawa, ul. Jagiellońska 80
www.ibdim.edu.pl

2. Ogólnopolska Izba Gospodarcza Drogownictwa
31-542 Kraków, ul. Mogilska 25
www.oigd.com.pl

3. Polskie Stowarzyszenie Wykonawców Nawierzchni Asfaltowych, 02-261 Warszawa, ul. Trojańska 7

4. Polska Izba Konstrukcji Stalowych
00-814 Warszawa, ul. Miedziana 3A lok. 11
www.piks.atomnet.pl

5. Stowarzyszenie Producentów Cementu i Wapna
30-003 Kraków, ul. Lubelska 29
www.polskicement.com.pl

6. Krajowy Punkt Kontaktowy Programów Badawczych Unii Europejskiej
00-049 Warszawa, ul. Świętokrzyska 21
www.kpk.gov.pl

7. Pekaes S.A.,
01-204 Warszawa, ul. Siedmiogrodzka 1/3
www.pekaes.com.pl

8. Orlen Asfalt Sp. z o.o.,
09-411 Płock, ul. Chemików 7
www.orlen-asfalt.pl

9. Budimex Dromex S.A.,
01-040 Warszawa, ul. Stawki 40
www.budimex.com.pl

10. Hermann Kirchner Polska Sp. z o.o.
91-463 Łódź, ul. Łagiewnicka 54/56
www.kirchner.com.pl

11. Warszawskie Przedsiębiorstwo Robót Drogowych S.A.
02-261 Warszawa, ul. Robotnicza 11/13
www.wprd.com.pl

12. Przedsiębiorstwo Robót Mostowych Mosty - Łódź S.A.
94-112 Łódź, ul. Bratysławska 52
www.mosty-lodz.pl

13. Czmuda S.A.
11-041 Olsztyn, ul. Sokola 6c
www.czmuda.com.pl l

14. Biuro Projektowo-Badawcze Dróg i Mostów Transprojekt Warszawa Sp. z o.o.
01-793 Warszawa, ul. Rydygiera 8 bud. 3A
www.transwar.com l

15. MSR Traffic Sp. z o.o.
62-081 Przeźmierowo, ul. Leśna 40
www.msrtraffic.com.pl

16. Inter Metal Sp. z o.o.
88-100 Inowrocław, ul. Marcinkowskiego 150
www.intermetal.com.pl

17. Przedsiębiorstwo Produkcyjno-Usługowe Trax Elektronik
30-010 Kraków, ul. Oboźna 31
www.traxelektronik.pl

18. Slag Recycling Sp. z o.o.
31-983 Kraków, ul. Igołomska 28 A
www.slagrecycling.com.pl

19. Infotron Sp. z o.o.
02-791 Warszawa, ul. Na Uboczu 22
www.infotron.com.pl

20. Energomar-Nord Sp. z o.o.
01-452 Warszawa, ul. Księcia Bolesława 1/3
www.energomar-nord.com.pl