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Autostrada A18 (Poland)
Encyclopedia
Autostrada A18 is a short planned motorway in southwestern Poland
which is to run from the Polish
/German
border at Olszyna/Forst-Bademeusel and the German Bundesautobahn 15
to the Polish Autostrada A4. The highway is a part of the European route E36 and the Pan-European corridor IIIA
from Berlin
to Wrocław.
After it's completed, the A18 should be 78 km (48.5 mi) long. The stretch currently opened and signed as A18 from Golnice
to the A4 is 7 km (4.3 mi) long. The remaining 71 km (44.1 mi) exists presently as a dual-carriageway road not up to motorway standards and not officially signed a such. Before August 2009, the signed A18 was 17 km long, until part of it was resigned as A4 in the summer of 2009, after the completion of a missing stretch of that motorway.
From 2004 onward, construction work has been progressively carried out to upgrade the whole stretch to modern standards, so that it can officially be designated as an Autostrada in its entirety. Between 2004 and 2006 the missing northern carriageway was completed on the whole length and most of the overpasses and bridges were reconstructed. By June 2007, the road had two carriageways in use. However, the older of the two is in very poor shape, as it still has a surface made of concrete slabs laid in the 1930s. The next stage of the reconstruction has not started as of September, 2010, the delay resulting from changes in the motorway project required by new environmental protection rules (A18 passes through Natura 2000
protected areas). On July 15, 2010 the environmental impact decision for the revised project was issued which should allow for the contract bidding procedure to be completed and for construction to start in 2011. However, in December 2010 the Polish government announced significant cutbacks to its funding for road construction, which may delay the project for some years. During the final stage of reconstruction, traffic will be shifted to the northern carriageway, and then the southern carriageway should be demolished and built anew.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
which is to run from the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
/German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
border at Olszyna/Forst-Bademeusel and the German Bundesautobahn 15
Bundesautobahn 15
is an autobahn in eastern Germany. It is one of the original Reichsautobahns and connected Breslau to Berlin. Construction was not finished during World War II, and the autobahn was single-lane only until the German reunification, after which it was upgraded....
to the Polish Autostrada A4. The highway is a part of the European route E36 and the Pan-European corridor IIIA
Pan-European corridors
The ten Pan-European transport corridors were defined at the second Pan-European transport Conference in Crete, March 1994, as routes in Central and Eastern Europe that required major investment over the next ten to fifteen years. Additions were made at the third conference in Helsinki in 1997...
from Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to Wrocław.
After it's completed, the A18 should be 78 km (48.5 mi) long. The stretch currently opened and signed as A18 from Golnice
Golnice
Golnice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Bolesławiec, within Bolesławiec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany....
to the A4 is 7 km (4.3 mi) long. The remaining 71 km (44.1 mi) exists presently as a dual-carriageway road not up to motorway standards and not officially signed a such. Before August 2009, the signed A18 was 17 km long, until part of it was resigned as A4 in the summer of 2009, after the completion of a missing stretch of that motorway.
Construction
The motorway had its beginning as a single-carriageway Reichsautobahn built by Germany in the 1930s. This route had all the features of an autobahn built according to the standards of the time, except that only a single carriageway was actually constructed along most of its length, and space was left for constructing the second carriageway at a later time. The road existed in this state until the early 1990s when the first 7 km (4.3 mi) at its eastern end were rebuilt with new concrete carriageways. In 1995 the 7 km stretch on the western end was modernised with the addition of a second carriageway.From 2004 onward, construction work has been progressively carried out to upgrade the whole stretch to modern standards, so that it can officially be designated as an Autostrada in its entirety. Between 2004 and 2006 the missing northern carriageway was completed on the whole length and most of the overpasses and bridges were reconstructed. By June 2007, the road had two carriageways in use. However, the older of the two is in very poor shape, as it still has a surface made of concrete slabs laid in the 1930s. The next stage of the reconstruction has not started as of September, 2010, the delay resulting from changes in the motorway project required by new environmental protection rules (A18 passes through Natura 2000
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas in the territory of the European Union.-Origins:In May 1992, the governments of the European Communities adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. This legislation is called the...
protected areas). On July 15, 2010 the environmental impact decision for the revised project was issued which should allow for the contract bidding procedure to be completed and for construction to start in 2011. However, in December 2010 the Polish government announced significant cutbacks to its funding for road construction, which may delay the project for some years. During the final stage of reconstruction, traffic will be shifted to the northern carriageway, and then the southern carriageway should be demolished and built anew.