 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Droga ekspresowa S8 | ||||
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
 Part ofE67 | ||||
| Length | 554.4 km (344.5 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  A4 nearWrocław | |||
| Major intersections |  S5 near Wrocław S11 nearKępno
 S61 nearOstrów Mazowiecka (under construction) | |||
| East end |  S19 nearBiałystok | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Poland | |||
| Major cities | Wrocław,Łódź,Warsaw,Białystok | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Expressway S8 orexpress road S8, officially namedThe Route of the Heroes of theBattle of Warsaw 1920 (pl.droga ekspresowa S8,Trasa Bohaterów Bitwy Warszawskiej 1920 r.[1]) is aPolish highway which connectsWrocław viaŁódź andWarsaw toBiałystok. The whole road is 554 km (344 mi) long. Its fragment forming the bypass ofWrocław (22.7 km) is constructed in motorway standard and marked asA8.
The road was constructed between 2008 and 2019 (short fragments serving as town bypasses had been constructed earlier). The construction was co-funded by theEuropean Union.[2]
In 2019, it was announced that an extension of S8 fromWrocław toKłodzko was added to the plans. Its main part is planned to be opened by 2028. In 2022, it was announced that there are plans for extending the road further fromKłodzko to thePolish-Czech border inBoboszów which is intended to be constructed by 2033, however in theCzech Republic there is so far no planned expressway that would connect to it.[3]
| Section | Opening dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Boboszów( / ) –Kłodzko –Bardo | planned 2033 | |
| Bardo –Wrocław (A4) | planned 2028 | |
| Wrocław bypass | 2010 – 2011 | Motorway  |
| Wrocław –Łódź (A1) | 2012 – 2014 | Bypass ofOleśnica was opened in 2006 |
| Piotrków Trybunalski (A1) –Warsaw (S2/S7) | 2012 – 2019 | Constructed as an upgrade of a dual-carriageway national road from the 1970s |
| Warsaw city section | 2010 – 2015 | Constructed mostly as an upgrade of the existing inner-city highway; partially concurrent with S2 & S7 |
| Warsaw –Białystok (S19) | 2008 – 2018 | Bypass ofOstrów Mazowiecka was opened in 2003 |
S8 runs through Warsaw and is part of its network of bypass roads. Various fragments were completed between 2010 and 2015.[4][5] It was constructed mostly as an upgrade of the city's existing inner highways. As such, it might be considered not to fully meet the definition of a bypass as it serves both the transit and local district traffic at the same time. In effect, large traffic jams form on this section every day in the peak hours. In the most recent general traffic measurement conducted in 2020 and 2021, S8 in Warsaw recorded theannual average daily traffic of 198'000 vehicles, making it the most busy highway section in Poland.[6]
During rush hours (7-10 and 16–20), the road is closed for truck drivers, who have to bypass the city area throughexpressway S2 and road 50 (south-east of Warsaw), or through roads 50 and 62 (north-west of Warsaw).
Originally, S8 was planned to continue fromBiałystok to the border withLithuania. In 2009, the plans were changed and insteadS61 now branches off S8 and follows a more direct route to the border.[7] S61 and the section of S8 from Warsaw to the S61's starting point serve as part ofVia Baltica.
