Poland’s motorway network is nearing its planned 2,100-kilometre scale, but rising traffic is forcing the state to invest in capacity on roads built for an earlier era. The A2 widening is the immediate test, while projects on the A4 and A1 show how public investment is moving from opening new routes to rebuilding existing ones.
The A2 contract puts construction under live traffic
Work is beginning on 92 kilometres of the A2 between Warsaw and Łódź, where an additional lane will be built on the inside of the carriageway. The route carries about 60,000 vehicles a day near Łódź and more than 100,000 near Warsaw; between the Pruszków and Konotopa junctions, daily traffic exceeds 110,000. The General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways, known as GDDKiA, says the scheme will require a complex and regularly adjusted traffic-management plan. Strabag and Budimex are taking over the site on 4 November, with the four-part project due to finish between the end of 2027 and April 2028. Drivers are expected to retain two lanes in each direction, but face a 70 km/h limit and section speed cameras.
A4 preparations combine several procurement stages
The A4 is next in line for major capacity work, including the route between Katowice and Kraków, sections west of Wrocław and the motorway through the Silesian conurbation. Traffic on the concession section between Katowice and Kraków already reaches 51,000 vehicles a day. A change in operating conditions is also expected: Stalexport’s concession expires in March 2027, after which the route will become free to use, potentially drawing vehicles from alternative roads. Procurement activity is at different stages. A tender is under way for the expansion design between the Brzęczkowice and Byczyna junctions, while an agreement has been signed for design work between Dulowa and Balice. Work on Byczyna–Dulowa depends on the selected Chrzanów and Trzebinia bypass option.
The programme is widening routes as traffic grows
The planned A4 interventions extend beyond the Katowice–Kraków section. Almost 70 kilometres between the Opole-Silesian border and Brzęczkowice are due to gain a lane, including the heavily used corridor through Zabrze, Ruda Śląska, Chorzów and Katowice. More than 105,000 vehicles a day use the Katowice section. Further west, GDDKiA has environmental decisions for the A4 between Krzyżowa and Legnica and is preparing an application for the Legnica–Kostomłoty section. Some works will follow the existing route, while the section from Kostomłoty to Stary Śleszów is planned on a new alignment. On the A1, design documentation for widening has been completed and an environmental-decision application has gone to the regional authority in Bydgoszcz.
Maintenance is becoming a procurement priority
GDDKiA has planned 20bn zł for investment in 2026, covering new roads and the existing network, compared with an average of 16.5bn zł a year over the previous five years. That investment level is intended to continue until at least 2030, but maintenance is already taking a larger share: spending rose from 2.67bn zł in 2024 to 2.87bn zł last year, with 3.59bn zł planned for 2026. The agency says roads built for Euro 2012 require, or will soon require, repairs including replacement of the asphalt wearing course, normally after 12–15 years. Damian Kaźmierczak of the Polish Employers’ Association of Construction Companies warns that public institutions may need more staff and more efficient procurement procedures as road and rail projects accumulate. That is a warning, not evidence that delivery has failed.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| A2 project cost | 1.3bn zł |
| A2 section being widened | 92 kilometres |
| A2 project contractors | Strabag and Budimex |
| A2 completion window | Between the end of 2027 and April 2028 |
| Planned 2026 investment | 20bn zł |
| Planned 2026 maintenance spending | 3.59bn zł |
| Potential cost for 120 kilometres of A4 | 10bn zł |
Investments will increasingly involve removing bottlenecks and increasing the capacity of existing routes, for example by adding lanes.
WHY IT MATTERS
For contractors and contracting authorities, Poland’s motorway programme shows how procurement changes once a network is largely built. Future work will increasingly involve widening live routes, coordinating traffic, obtaining environmental decisions and sequencing design and construction packages, rather than delivering entirely new corridors.
Reported from rp.pl, 2026-11-04. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
