The road-building programme in Poland is one the longest ever developed in the world. Its beginnings can be traced back to late 1970, when socialism in Poland reached its growth limits and central-planned economy began to wound down. Late 1970s were the time when construction of Berlin-Moscow motorway was due to kick off. It did get under way, but soon works ceased for next 30 years. 1980s were the time of dreadful economic misery; in 1990s few roads were built. Road construction programmes saw better days in late 2000s, but the pace of development was surely too low. Before workers coul set out to work, clerks had to get to grips with all bereaucratic procedures that drag on and on. Then local residents showed how NIMBY approach works in practise, at the very end some eco-terrorist chained themselves to trees and put back to onset of construction works.
Finally, Poland became a big construction site (to draw on official propaganda dictionary) in 2009. Bereucratic procedures were completed, National Road Construction Programme was passed in parliament, Poland received a generous cash injection from EU funds for investments in infrastucture and, last but not least (to make the post look like a school essay) there was a big motivating factor that spurred the road construction spurt - the imminent Football Championchip due in 2012. According to all plans, most expressways and motorways are due to be opened less than two months before Euro 2012.
A big stride was essential if Poland wanted to play host to one to two millions of football fans coming from all over Europe. Our infrastructure was so run-down and underdeveloped that it required a huge effort to bring the whole mess into order. It was doable, but everything was launched far too late and schedules were so demanding that a small delay could pull the house of cards down. The time for facing the truth has come.
Real problems emerged recently. The glitch in construction of stairway on the National Stadium in Warsaw will postpone its opening ceremony by a few months, but it still doesn't herald any disaster, as it will be opened a few months before the first football match kicks off. Other stadiums are currently finished and they will be completed. Worse is the case of motorways, with key section linking Łódź and Warsaw. Tenders for five sub-sections have been won by three companies, including a Chinese overseas construction company - COVEC. In May it was revealed that COVEC failed to pay its subcontractors, the Company had serious problems with liquidity and it turned out that the construction project was beyond their capacity. Works on construction sites have been suspended and now the Polish government runs negotations with the Chinese company. The infrastructure minister avowes the motorway will be 'passable' (not mistake for 'finished') in early June 2012, but there are few people who believe it...
There's no doubt this motorway is simply vital to make driving from Warsaw to Poznań bearable. Actually from Warsaw to Poznań it even is, but the other way round it is much worse. Once you get off the motorway in Stryków, the ordeal begins. I travelled there last time in April and the journey lasted over six hours - average speed was then lower than 50 kmph... Next time I'll go to that Client by train...
For me much more necessary is the southern bypass of Warsaw which should facilitate everyday commuting to work. It is also quite sure that the section from Konotopa to Airport will not be finished - progress on construction of some junctions is pitiable and there is no chance it will be caught up. Plus there are some other obstacles, such as a council block still waiting for a demolition with its dwellers waiting for an eviction. Until today I had some glimmer of hope for construction of "Elka". Today I ventured to scrutinise the progress of works on the junction of the bypass and expressway towards the airport and ul. Marynarska and all my hopes were dashed...
I ventured there in the morning. The route, taken with all possible shortcuts, was covered on bike within 35 minutes. To the right - I cycled through a path linking Mysiadło and Jeziorki, at this time of the year more and more overgrown by grass and weeds, yet still cycleable. Just after taking this shot my camera signalled its battery was low so I gave up snapping until reaching my destinantion. Later it turned out it just bluffed, just like every mobile phone does when it cries for charging long before a battery is down...
I went up ul. Nawłocka, ul. Trombity, ul. Kórnicka, ul. Baletowa and the pot-holed ul. Hołubcowa. Then turned left and trespassed onto private property (I noticed the peculiar traffic signage on my way back, I still have remorse, caused by my innate respect for other people's privacy).
Then came the inspection. To my surprise ul. Hołubcowa still cuts across the bypass. The tarmac wasn't even ripped off the local street. Looking east - looks like a road in the future. In a distance one can see a flyover that takes ul. Poloneza over the expressway.
Looking west - and I'm totally disillusioned - the tunnel under the tracks is not digged in. When peeking at the site from trains I suspected the works were much more advanced, in fact the tunnel under the tracks still waits for its time...
Seeing the site from the train has the drawback of seeing everything very shortly. Getting there on foot doesn't give the opportunity to see everything anyway. Access to most parts of the site is restricted, and this is correct, but little can be seen if one does not look from above. To the right - I suppose this is a viaduct that will take the regular S79 road towards ul. Marynarska. Or not...
I took two more photos, but as they show very little stuff, there's no point in uploading them. The whole journey wasn't as enjoyable as planned, as despite hanging around for over a quarter I couldn't even snap any plane touching down... On the site the camera did not moan about battery running low so on my way back I could indulge in snapping... To the right - ul. Hołubcowa near ul. Sztajerka - a really enchanting place, but I wouldn't dare to go there by car... Unless I was a SUV-owner... Not, this is not a reason, nor a justification to buy such ridiculously big vehicles...
The next snap shows a run-down house by ul. Baletowa. Three years ago part of the roof wasn't sunken...
Where ul. Kórnicka meets ul. Trombity I turned back and spotted billows of smoke wafting somewhere over Okęcie. Back home I checked the news in the Internet and found out another bus was ablaze...
And at the very end, another pot-holed road, ul. Nawłocka. I don't know who imposed a speed limit of 40 kmph, as I would be afraid to drive there at more than 20 kmph, unless I was very intent on doing down underchassis of a vehicle... Maybe in a winter driving here on beaten snow would be safer...At the end of the day I've reconciled to the thought these roads won't be finished by the football championchip, I don't want them to be finished that soon because I know haste would do more harm than good. I would rather see them opened in two years and finished properly. And for June 2012 - time to think about taking holidays and staying away from Warsaw when crowds invade the capital :)
No comments:
Post a Comment