It is the longest highway in Poland. The Germans began to build. It will be free

Before we get to them, let’s get this straight. The longest Polish highway is the A4. The A4 motorway, which connects the west with the east of our country, is the real communication backbone of Poland. Starting from the border with Germany, through Wrocław, Gliwice, Katowice, Kraków, to Rzeszów, it ends at the border with Ukraine. With a length of 667 km, this highway not only connects important urban centers, but also fits into the network of European routes, as part of the 3rd pan-European transport corridor.

The second longest motorway in the country is about 80 km behind the A4. In fact, this is the highway A1, which runs from the Baltic Sea and Tricity to the southern border of the country in Gorzyczki. It is 584 km long.

The rest of the article is below the video:

A4 motorway – which cities does it connect to?

The A4 motorway is 667 km long and runs through five voivodeships: Lower Silesia, Opole, Silesia, Lesser Poland and Podkarpackie. There are several cities along the way:

Legnica,
Wroclaw,
Opole,
Katowice,
Cracow,
Bull,
and Rzeszów.

The A4 also allows drivers to travel to other regions of Poland. It crosses, among others: with S19, S7, A1 and S3. This means that you can quickly get to Lublin, Warsaw, Łódź or Poznań. Or even go all the way to the Baltic Sea. Poland’s motorway network is becoming more congested.

Photo: DarSzach / Shutterstock

The A4 motorway without an emergency lane

Did you know that the Germans started building the A4 motorway?

The A4 motorway, a major route connecting the west and east of Poland, has its roots in the times of the Third Reich. Originally designed as a Reichsautobahn, it consisted of two sections: RAB 9 from Berlin to Wroclaw and RAB 29 from Wroclaw via Opole, Gliwice to Bytom. At the end of the Second World War, only parts of the future A4 remained in Poland, including the sections Krzywa – Legnica, Legnica – Wrocław (Bielany Wrocławskie) and Gliwice – Bytom, which had total length of 103.3 km.

Already in 1936, the first section of Krzywa – Legnica was implemented, and a year later another section of Golnice – Krzyżowa – Krzywa. Construction work was also underway on other sections, including the single road Wrocław (Bielany Wrocławskie) – Brzeg and Ujazd – Gliwice. Some of them, such as Owczary – Nogowczyce, were not completed, and work on the Zgorzelec – Bolesławiec route was visible until the construction of the new highway began in the early 21st century.

This highway survived without major changes until the 1990s. The surface, made of concrete slabs cast in, became deformed over time. Now, of course, the track has been upgraded, but one more major investment is still needed. This is a major section between Krakow and Katowice.

It is the longest highway in Poland. The Germans began to build. It will be free

Photo: Katarzyna Prusakiewicz / Auto Świat

The A4 motorway without an emergency lane

A major change on the A4 between Kraków and Katowice

The main part of the A4 motorway is undoubtedly the section between Katowice and Kraków. This is where nearly 47,000 people pass every day, according to Stalexport – the lighter of this section. vehicles, of which nearly 39 thousand are passenger cars. This part of the highway is the busiest in Poland, which proves its importance for domestic traffic.

The government does not intend to extend the contract with the current concessionaire after it expires in 2027. Travel on this strategic sector is considered free. The authorities noticed that the traffic is increasing on the A4 and they intend to increase the capacity of the route. An extension of the section between Katowice and Krakow with an additional third lane in each direction is being considered, which would certainly improve the comfort of traveling on this route.