Southern Bypass of Warsaw - mid-November 2020 update

It had been nearly half a year since my last trip to inspect the progress of Warsaw’s bypass construction east of ul. Puławska, but west of Vistula. Back in late May, I could venture there on bike without covering my face. On previous Saturday I had to put on a thin face mask, to protect myself from a PLN 500 fine, rather than from people I passed by swiftly in the open air.

The weather was quite fine then, with around +9C on thermometer. I had dug up thermal vest and long johns purchased in 2018 before the winter tripbeyond the polar circle, donned a tracksuit, gloves and a chimney and set off. Sadly, after photographing documents on preceding days, I forgot to switch the macro off in my camera, hence pardon the acuity of the first shots. To the right, work at full blast at the intersection of ul. Rosoła and ul. Płaskowickiej being rebuilt. The roads straight ahead will take drivers towards and from Ursynów Wschód junction.

Having descended down ul. Orszady and through Wilanów I reached Przyczółkowa junction which was nearly ready. The construction site was sadly fenced off with workers onsite and security guards looking out for trespassers. I did not venture to see the road nearly or fully completed.

From the afore-mentioned junction I cycled east along the southern road of S2, through a partly finished, partly unmade cycling path. As one can see, barriers, lamp posts and signage were all in place, lanes had been marked out. Note the curve in the distance which seems badly profiled, just as the one on Konotopa junction which takes the traffic from S2 to S8.

I cycled an oval around fields of rural Wilanów to get onto a viaduct which carries ul. Syta above S2. A view westwards, the expressway seems to await administrative procedures necessary before opening. Note the concrete slabs from which it is made, more durable than asphalt.

To the right – looking towards the Vistula from the same viaduct. In the distance plenty of construction machinery on the bridge taking the bypass over the river. On Saturday afternoon the work was in overdrive.

On my was back, I made a stopover on a muddy meadow which should be an extension of ul. Branickiego, linking it to slip roads from and into Ursynów Wschód junction. Nothing had been and the spot (missing 150 metres of road) has been dubbed the section of disgrace.

To reach the goal of cycling 25 kilometres, I rode around Ursynów instead of heading straight for home. On my way, I spotted speed bumps on ul. Roentgena, put in recently. Speeding drivers (I confess I used to drove there at 70 kmph in times when I took that street to reach P&R Stokłosy) now need to slow down to 30 kmph, yet judging by comments on local forums, locals seem disgruntled with the solution.

The last snap, taken, while being caught out by the rain. The extension of ul. Indiry Gandhi, running to Ursynów Zachód junction, which would remain useless until the U-turn at the end of current S2 is converted into a regular extension.

I wonder whether the section of S2 between Przyczółkowa junction and Lubelska junction (where it joins existing A2 motorway) is opened this year. Administrative procedures last around a month, but if completed before the end of December, a trip there by car would be one of those few signs that things are moving on despite the pandemic; hopefully towards normalcy.