The A8 motorway ( pl, Autostradowa Obwodnica Wrocławia, ''abbreviated AOW'') or Wrocław Motorway Bypass or Autostrada A8 is a motorway bypass of the city of
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. The motorway includes the high
Rędziński Bridge
The Rędziński Bridge ( pl, Most Rędziński) is a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Oder river in Wrocław, Poland. As a section of the A8 motorway bypassing the center of Wroclaw, the bridge links both sections of the route across the Oder, pr ...
over the
Oder
The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...
river.
Outside of Wrocław, A8 continues in an expressway standard as
Expressway S8.
The motorway opened to traffic on 31 August 2011. It is not planned to be subject to tolling.
Route description
Route history
Initial plans had the A8 motorway ran the entire route between
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
and
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
, with a southern portion of the road continuing towards the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
to provide access to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. In 2000, the motorway was truncated to its current length bypassing the western and northern portions of Wroclaw, while the rest of the route was decided to be completed in an expressway standard as
Expressway S8. During the campaign for the
2007 parliamentary elections, the
Civic Platform
Civic Platform ( pl, Platforma Obywatelska, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a political party in Poland. It is currently led by Donald Tusk.
It w ...
party pledged to upgrade the connection to motorway standard, thus extending the A8 motorway. However, after forming a government following its victory, the party abandoned the idea, explaining that the required changes in planning would unacceptably delay the construction by many years.
On 1 September 2011, the
Ministry of Infrastructure published draft regulation on the motorway's tolling. According to the ministry, the A8 motorway will not be subject to tolling for motorists, however the entire route of the motorway is subject to electronic toll collection system mandatory for vehicles heavier then 3.5
tons, known as
e-TOLL.
Images
File:Most-Redzinski-zza-kierownicy.jpg, Rędziński Bridge
The Rędziński Bridge ( pl, Most Rędziński) is a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Oder river in Wrocław, Poland. As a section of the A8 motorway bypassing the center of Wroclaw, the bridge links both sections of the route across the Oder, pr ...
File:MostRedzinski07.JPG, Rędziński Bridge
The Rędziński Bridge ( pl, Most Rędziński) is a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Oder river in Wrocław, Poland. As a section of the A8 motorway bypassing the center of Wroclaw, the bridge links both sections of the route across the Oder, pr ...
File:Most-Redzinski-z-mostu-Milenijnego.jpg, Rędziński Bridge
The Rędziński Bridge ( pl, Most Rędziński) is a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Oder river in Wrocław, Poland. As a section of the A8 motorway bypassing the center of Wroclaw, the bridge links both sections of the route across the Oder, pr ...
File:New bridge (Rędziński).jpg, Rędziński Bridge
The Rędziński Bridge ( pl, Most Rędziński) is a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Oder river in Wrocław, Poland. As a section of the A8 motorway bypassing the center of Wroclaw, the bridge links both sections of the route across the Oder, pr ...
File:Wrocław, Autostradowa obwodnica Wrocławia A8 (AOW) - fotopolska.eu (125886).jpg
File:Wrocław, Autostradowa obwodnica Wrocławia A8 (AOW) - fotopolska.eu (150432).jpg
File:Wrocław, Autostradowa obwodnica Wrocławia A8 (AOW) - fotopolska.eu (239268).jpg, Wrocław Stadion junction
File:Wrocław, Autostradowa obwodnica Wrocławia A8 (AOW) - fotopolska.eu (239269).jpg, 500 m before Wrocław Lotnisko junction
File:Wrocław, Autostradowa obwodnica Wrocławia A8 (AOW) - fotopolska.eu (239270).jpg, 3300 m before Wrocław Zachód junction
File:Wrocław, Autostradowa obwodnica Wrocławia A8 (AOW) - fotopolska.eu (239278).jpg, Wrocław Zachód junction
See also
*
European route E67
European route E 67 is an E-road running from Prague in the Czech Republic to Estonia and by ferry to Finland. It goes via Prague, Wrocław, Warsaw, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki.
The route is known as the Via Baltic ...
References
External links
Official page of the projectRoute map on the official project page(low resolution)
Map of the motorway (high resolution, pdf format)
{{Polish highways
Motorways in Poland
Proposed roads in Poland