The longest tunnel in Poland runs under a subway line

“I am convinced that this tunnel will contribute not only to the development and increased comfort of living for the residents of Warsaw, Mazovia and all of Poland, but also to increased safety,” said the Prime Minister at the opening of the new section of the S2 road.

The 2335 m long underpass under Warsaw's Ursynów district is the longest underground passage in Poland. It runs under the tunnel of metro line 1. The construction took place without stopping the traffic of the underground railroad. Moreover, the route was connected to the southern Anna Jagiellon Bridge, opened almost a year ago. Warsaw Southern Bypass is part of the S2 route. Drivers will bypass the centre of the capital and reduce the travel time between individual districts.

“Today, we open the most modern and at the same time the longest tunnel in Poland. It is over 2 km long and it is a symbol of connecting eastern and western Poland – connecting two systems of expressways and motorways” said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Funds for the construction of the Warsaw Southern Bypass from the state budget

The total cost of construction of the S2 section opened today, along with the tunnel, amounted to PLN 4.5 billion. The head of the Polish government emphasised that the majority of the cost of construction of the Warsaw Southern Bypass was financed from the state budget. Part of the financing came from European funds. After fixing the funds, the government can allocate more resources to new investments. This gives a good perspective for the future.

Driver safety first

The Warsaw Southern Bypass tunnel has been equipped with over 100 cameras that will monitor traffic along the road around the clock. In addition, over a dozen fire detectors have been installed along the route of the underground section together with strands of linear temperature sensors, which are to automatically alert the services in case of any danger.

Speed measurement gates were installed at the entrances and exits to the Warsaw Southern Bypass tunnel. The system will calculate the average speed of a vehicle on the controlled section based on the time between the beginning and end of the monitored road. The speed limit in the tunnel is 80 kilometers per hour. Drivers will have three lanes and an emergency lane at their disposal.

“It will be one of the safest tunnels because there will be sectional speed measurement. I hope that all drivers will comply with the safety regulations,” said the Prime Minister. "Too many people die on the roads in our country all the time. Our statistics are not good. Hence the new road safety regulations and new road infrastructure,” he added.

More than 400 km of new roads in 2021

Already this year and in the following years, hundreds of kilometers of roads will increase the comfort of driving for Polish drivers. The new infrastructure will also increase safety and further improve economic development prospects for the whole of Poland. Further road sections have been or will soon be opened for use by drivers: A1, S1, S2, S3, S7, S19 and S61.

“This is very important because, until now, Poland was fragmented by a network of express roads that were not connected with each other in many places. What we are working on today is their logical connection, which will provide an appropriate communication architecture throughout Poland,” said the head of the Polish government.

“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the ‘road acceleration’. Although we opened the tunnel with some delay, many other roads were opened ahead of schedule,” he added.