In December 2022, "Made in Vilnius" wrote about the section of the main road opened near the Polish town of Elk. It is estimated that the opening of the mentioned 24-kilometer section shortened the journey to the Polish capital by 20-30 minutes.
However, everything is not over on the Polish side - Lomza continues to be mired in transit traffic jams. It looks like local residents and drivers will have to put up with it all this summer.
The opening of a part of the Lomza bypass is postponed once again
The entire trunk road from the Lithuanian border to Warsaw should be completed by June 2025. Currently, the reconstruction works are mostly stuck at the Lomža bypass. In 2022, the Polish authorities obliged the contractors to partially open transit traffic on this section.
"In the middle of 2024, the contractor of the Lomza bypass will have to ensure that this section is passable, that is, to open at least one carriageway (1×2 section) along the entire length of the main route. In this way, it would be possible not only to bypass Lomza, but also to drive the entire S61 from Ostrów Mazowiecka to Budziszko, which is especially relevant for transit traffic. The entire section of the S61 from the Łomża Zachód junction to the Koln junction – with two carriageways and all the accompanying infrastructure – is planned to be put into operation in 2025. in the middle Then the S61 highway should be completed, which will have four lanes along its entire length," the Polish "General Directorate of National Roads and Highways" informed in 2022.
However, the mentioned section has not yet opened even in May, because not only is the road in this section unfinished, but also the construction of the bridge is currently underway. Completion of the work on one side of the Lomza bypass has been postponed once again - to the end of September.
"Concreting of the connections of sections of the Lomza bypass bridge across the Narevo River has begun. Both banks of the river will be connected by a 1205 meter long structure. Drivers will be able to use parts of the western bypass of the S61 highway near Lomza already at the end of September this year," reads a statement released by the Polish General Directorate of National Roads and Highways.
You can see the entire progress of the works on the territory of Poland in this interactive on the map.
On the Lithuanian side, the works are promised to be completed by the end of 2025
About 40 km of the Via Baltica section from Marijampolė to the Polish border is scheduled to be completed in 2025. In December. "Via Lietuva" and the Minister of Communications informed about these specific dates Marius Skoudis.
"The reconstruction of one of the country's most important traffic arteries, Via Baltica, from Marijampolė to the Lithuanian-Polish border, about 40 km in total, is scheduled to be completed at the end of next year. The project consists of the renewal of 4 different sections of the road, the reconstruction was completed last year and 2 sections of the road were opened to traffic, currently intensive works are taking place on the longest section, 16 km long, from the city of Marijampolė to the village of Skaidiškių. The length of the last section of the road is 12 km," reports "Via Lietuva".
According to Google Maps, currently a car journey from the center of Vilnius to the center of Warsaw would take from 6 hours 30 minutes to 7 hours. 30 minutes
