Expressway S3 or express road S3 is major road in Poland which is planned to run from Świnoujście on the Baltic Sea through Szczecin, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Zielona Góra and Legnica, to the border with the Czech Republic, where it will connect to the D11 motorway. The total planned length is, of which is open to traffic and is under construction. Motorway A3 was planned to be built along this route before, but the decision was made to build a lower standard "express road" as the traffic density was judged too low to justify an autostrada. Nonetheless, S3 shares the crucial properties of an autostrada, including physical separation, restricted access, all but one interchange being grade-separated, and at least two continuous lanes in each direction as well as emergency lanes. The section from Szczecin to Jordanowo is completed since 2017. The section from Jordanowo to Legnica is completed except for a delayed fragment near Polkowice which is planned to open by mid-2020 as a dual-carriageway road and by mid-2021 as an expressway. The section from Legnica to the Czech border is in realisation, with contracted completion by 2023. The section from Świnoujście to Szczecin is partially in realisation and partially under tender, with planned completion by 2024.
Route
History
Initial route plans (autostrada A3)
The autostrada A3 was a planned motorway from 1993 to 2001 that was supposed to be built in western Poland. It was planned to begin in Szczecin, link Zielona Góra, Bolków and end in Lubawka on Polish-Czech border. Some road maps published in 1990s had an approximate route of the motorway, which in some places was different than planned nowadays route S3, most notably the autostrada was supposed to form north-eastern bypass of Legnica while S3 was constructed as its western bypass. One legacy of the road having been planned as an autostrada is that it was being built on a completely new alignment some distance away from the parallel DK3 road from the beginning. This is akin to how most expressways in Poland are constructed nowadays, but in contrast to the standards of the 2000s when most of the expressways were constructed by upgrading existing roads.
Świnoujście – Szczecin
One section of S3 east of Szczecin was constructed in the 1970s in an expressway standard of those times. As of 2019, this section is under reconstruction to meet contemporary standards. S3 south of Szczecin overlaps with A6 motorway.
Szczecin – Legnica
A single carriageway was constructed in years 1985 – 1995 on the section Sulechów – Zielona Góra. Several short sections were constructed in years 2001 – 2008. The first large section of S3 was the 82.0 km from Szczecin to Gorzów Wlkp. This stretch was opened to traffic in 2010. The stretch between Gorzów Wlkp. and Sulechów was completed in 2013 / 2014. In August 2013 tenders for the expressway between Nowa Sól and Legnica were announced, as well as for adding second carriageway on the remaining stretches. They were completed in 2017 / 2018.
Legnica – border with Czech Republic
Signing the contracts for construction of all four stretches between A4 at Legnica and the Czech border was planned for 2014, however in 2013 it was announced that the section will not enter construction before 2017. As the reason, the officials cited delays in preparations in the Czech Republic, which meant that the connecting motorway on the Czech side of the border might enter into construction in 2018 at the earliest. Some of the money allocated for it has been re-purposed to build the S2 expressway in Warsaw. Later the decision was partially reversed, and in 2014 two tenders were opened for the section between Legnica and Bolków. This part was constructed in years 2015 – 2018. Two remaining contracts for the section from Bolków to the Czech border were signed in October 2018, with the completion dates of November 2021 and June 2023.
