Opening of a new section of the S7 and a surprise for drivers

The new section of the S7 connected the existing parts of this road in Małopolska between Moczydło and Miechów and between Szczepanowice and Widoma. This means that north of Krakow, drivers use almost 260 km of uninterrupted expressway to Warsaw.

Minister of Infrastructure Darius Klimczakassessed on Monday, during the opening ceremony of the new section of the S7, that it is a very important part of this route, connecting sections that are already in operation.

– Five kilometres, but in its entirety it is an extremely important fragment that speeds up communication, provides safety, comfort and responds to all the needs that have been articulated over the years – there is finally a good road in this part of Małopolska. Today we can be happy about its opening – noted the head of the Ministry of Infrastructure.

That's not all. During the ceremony, the Minister of Infrastructure announced that the route between Rdzawka and Nowy Targ will be opened on Friday. This 16-kilometer section of the DK47 is to make it much easier to get to Zakopane. GDDKiA reports that the total amount of the contract for its construction is nearly one billion zlotys (PLN 994,597,211.38). The works began in July 2020 and their completion was expected on October 9, 2024.

As the minister said, the opening of the road is “a surprise at the end of the holidays”.

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As assessed by the Voivode of Małopolska, Krzysztof Jan Klęczar, the opening of the new section, connecting the already functioning parts of the S7 north of Kraków, is “a unique event for the residents of Małopolska and people associated with the development of this area”.

Maciej Ostrowski, director of the Kraków branch of the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA), informed that the S7 Miechów – Szczepanowice section 5.3 km long, it connects with the northern bypass of the city and allows to bypass it from the east. Five bridge structures were built on the route, including a 400-meter viaduct over the railway line, retention reservoirs and animal crossings. Due to protests of residents, the start of its construction was delayed – construction works lasted from October 2022. The section was built by the consortium of Fabe Polska (leader) and Sp Sine Midas Stroy at a cost of PLN 197.3 million.

The route connects two existing sections, northern from the border of the Świętokrzyskie and Małopolskie voivodeships (18.7 km, opened in September 2023) and southern towards the Widoma junction (13.1 km, opened in October 2021). The S7 expressway has been routed along a new route, east of the current route of national road no. 7.

The Minister of Infrastructure reminded that in order to fully connect the two largest Polish cities – Warsaw and Kraków – with an expressway, the construction of the last section of the S7, between the Widoma junction and the capital of Małopolska, must be completed.

This fragment consists of two sections – the first of them is the so-called extra-urban section connecting Widoma with the Mistrzejowice junction with a length of 11.2 km. It is planned to open it to traffic at the end of this year and connect it with a temporary exit to the S52 expressway under construction, the Northern Bypass of Kraków.

From the Mistrzejowice junction, the S7 route runs through the highly urbanized area of ​​Nowa Huta, bypassing the metallurgical plant on the western side. Two junctions are being built on the 7.1 km of the urban part of the route – Mistrzejowice and Grębałów. According to road workers, this is a complicated section in terms of engineering, as the road passes through water, gas, telecommunications, sewage and heating installations, as well as low, medium and high voltage power grids. Additionally, the route clashes with railway tracks (it crosses them with an over-kilometer viaduct) and tram tracks (there will be two viaducts for public transport vehicles above the S7).

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The implementation of this section is delayed because the Mistrzejowice junction had to be redesigned during construction. Last month, the Malopolska voivode issued a permit for the implementation of a road investment (ZRID) for this junction. GDDKiA assumes that it will be completed in 2025. The contractor of the route from Widoma to Nowa Huta is the consortium of Gülermak (leader) and Mosty Łódź.

– We want to complete the construction of the S7 road in its entire Małopolska section as soon as possible. We want this long-awaited road to be a “super seven” – Klimczak indicated.

According to him, work is also underway to prepare the construction of the S7 between Kraków and Myślenice, as well as on other sections outside Małopolska.

– We are making great efforts to complete the section from Kiełpin to Płońsk as soon as possible, but also to properly plan the critical, very difficult section from Warsaw to Kiełpin – announced the minister.

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The S7 expressway will ultimately measure about 750 km and will be one of the longest (after S8) expressways in Poland. It is also part of the European route E77, which connects the Tri-City ports with Slovakia and Hungary.

According to GDDKiA, sections of this route in the vicinity of Warsaw (Płońsk – Kiełpin) and Kraków (Widoma – Nowa Huta) are still under construction. The road administrator reported that it is approaching the signing of a contract for the development of a construction design for the Kiełpin – Warsaw section, and for the Kraków – Myślenice section, possible variants of the route of the road are being developed.

The S7 route will connect the three main urban centers of the country – Tricity, Warsaw and Krakow. Thanks to it, the journey from Krakow to Gdansk will take less than six hours.