A key expressway into the middle of nowhere. Hopes were high, but there's a problem.

• The section of the S3 Kamienna Góra-Lubawka expressway ending at the border with the Czech Republic was opened to drivers in 2023.
• An approximately 3-kilometer section of the D11 motorway, directly connected to the S3 in Lubawka, is scheduled for completion in 2026. The entire section (21 km) on the Czech side, which has been under construction for several months, is scheduled to open in 2028.
• Further south, approximately 20 km of the D11 will be built. We've already identified the consortium of companies that submitted the most favorable bid. Their bid is just under 70% of the estimated cost.

The S3 expressway is 436 km long and runs from Świnoujście, through Szczecin, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Zielona Góra, Legnica, Jawor, Bolków, and Kamienna Góra to Lubawka on the border with the Czech Republic . In the summer of 2024, the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) opened the last 16-kilometer section of this route in the southern part, between the Bolków and Kamienna Góra Północ junctions.

The route cuts through the Sudetes, which is why as many as 69 viaducts, bridges and viaducts were built, as well as two tunnels, including one approximately 2.3 km long, which is currently the longest non-urban structure of this type in Poland and the longest tunnel bored in rock.

Unfortunately, the S3 can only reach the Czech border (this section, Kamienna Góra-Lubawka, opened in 2023). And that's literally true, as on the Czech side there are only fields and meadows . But the situation will change soon.

Construction of the Czech D11 motorway, a 21-kilometer section southbound from the S3 terminus and the Polish border, has been underway since the fall of 2024. The outline of the new route is already visible, allowing for smooth access to our neighbors' territory in the coming years.

"The construction of the D11 motorway from Trutnov to the Polish border is the largest motorway contract ever awarded in a public tender (CZK 11.7 billion, or approximately PLN 2 billion - editor's note). It will be completed by early 2028 at the latest, but the 3-kilometer border section will be completed two years earlier, " said Martin Kupka, Czech Minister of Transport, in October 2024.

However, the completion of the entire 21-kilometer section may be delayed. This spring, radioactive ash heaps were discovered at the construction site, which will impact the construction of the Poříčí Tunnel, which is to consist of two two-lane tunnels, 576 meters (right) and 540 meters (left), under Poříčský Hřbet Mountain above the Úpa River. The delay in construction of this tunnel is estimated to be six months.

The aforementioned 3-kilometer section is being built in Královec, bordering the Polish town of Lubawka. It will be the site of the first Czech road junction. The project involves the construction of 28 bridges, two tunnels, and three junctions, and is being implemented by a consortium led by MI Roads.