Drogowa Trasa Średnicowa (DTŚ, can be translated as ''diametral

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

'' or ''central highway'') is a

controlled-access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The DTŚ is entirely a dual carriageway with a minimum of 3 lanes in each direction. It is one of the most important roads of the

Upper Silesian Industrial Region The Upper Silesian Industrial Region (, , Polish abbreviation: ''GOP'' ; ) is a large industrial region in Poland.

. The DTŚ runs most of its course parallel to the A4 motorway but, unlike the A4, the DTŚ provides access to the congested city centers of the

Metropolis GZM The Metropolis GZM (, formally in Polish (Upper Silesian-Dąbrowa Basin Metropolis)) is a metropolitan association () composed of 41 contiguous gminas, with a total population of over 2 million, covering most of the Katowice metropolitan area i ...

with 26 junctions (A4 has 6 junctions in the comparable section). The DTŚ runs from

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

through

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; ) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM – a metropolis with a population of 2 million. It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa ...

and

Świętochłowice Świętochłowice (; ; ) is a city with powiat rights in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is also one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM, with a population of 2 million, and is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa ...

Ruda Śląska Ruda Śląska (; ) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is a city in the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of two million. It is in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica River (tributary of the Oder). It h ...

Zabrze Zabrze (; German: 1915–1945: , full form: , , ) is an industrial city put under direct government rule in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It lies in the western part of the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of around 2 m ...

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

. The construction of road resulted in a considerable improvement in the traffic of the highly urbanized area of the metropolis. It shortened the road distance between Katowice and Gliwice by 26%, travelling time by 76%, consumption of gasoline by 47%, the number of road accidents by 82%, exploitation costs by 39%, and air pollution by 50%."Roads to Euro 2012. An Analysis of Poland's Road Infrastructure. Current Status and the Development Opportunities."
American Chamber of Commerce in Poland, Warszawa, June 2007.

History of construction

The DTŚ is the largest road investment ever carried out by a local government in Poland. The construction started in 1986. In 1990, due to Polish financial problems, the work practically halted. Since 1994 the budget for construction increased thanks to the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...

(EIB) that provided a guarantee of funding. Since 1999 the construction of the DTŚ has been a shared responsibility of the Polish government, local government of the

and of the cities through which the road runs, and work progresses steadily. A local organization in Gliwice has been protesting against proposed layout of the road through the city center (on ecological basis).GdG Association
The construction has been completed in 2016. An eastern extension of the DTŚ is planned for a more distant future. This branch would run from Katowice to

Mysłowice Mysłowice (; ) is a city in Silesia in Poland, bordering Katowice. The population of the city is 72,124. It is located in the core of the Metropolis GZM in the Silesian Highlands, on the Przemsza and Brynica rivers (tributaries of the Vistul ...

Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Metropolis GZM municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Re ...

Będzin Będzin (; also seen spelled ''Bendzin''; ) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula River, Vistula). Even though part of Silesian Voivodeship ...

and

Dąbrowa Górnicza Dąbrowa Górnicza () is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. It is located in eastern part of the Silesian Voivodeship, on the Czarna Przemsza and Biała Przemsza rivers (tributaries of the Vistula Rive ...

. The planned length of this section is .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drogowa Trasa Srednicowa Roads in Poland Buildings and structures in Silesian Voivodeship