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Via Baltica and Via Carpatia expressways, Poland

Clear cuttings in the primeval Augustowska Forest – part of “the green lungs of Poland” – destined to serve as a city bypass as part of the Via Baltica expressway.
Clear cuttings in the primeval Augustowska Forest – part of “the green lungs of Poland” – destined to serve as a city bypass as part of the Via Baltica expressway.
CEE Bankwatch Network, along with WWF Poland and the Polish Society for Protection of Birds and other NGOs, is concerned by the possible negative environmental impacts of the construction of expressways in north-east Poland, in violation of both Polish and EU legislation. The project regarded as the most controversial and harmful for nature is the S-8 expressway – already under construction – and known as a part of the “Via Baltica” corridor (the pan-European transport corridor from Helsinki to Warsaw). In recent years however, the idea to develop another new transport corridor along the S-19 expressway called Via Carpatia has gained the support of the authorities.

In 2005, after several months of NGO campaigning and the release of Recommendation no. 108 issued by the Bern Convention Secretariat, the Polish Road Agency agreed to carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as a basis for the final decision about the routing of the Via Baltica. “The strategy for Via Baltica expressway development”, accompanied by an SEA report, was completed in mid July 2008. As stated by the Polish government, the final decision about the most appropriate route for the Polish section of the Via Baltica will be based on this analysis. The SEA recommended a route other than road no. 8 favoured thus far by the authorities.

After considering all the comments and opinions collected during public consultations of the Strategy for Via Baltica and the SEA report, the official and final recommendation by the Scott Wilson company was that the most appropriate route for the Polish section of the Trans-European road corridor I (‘Via Baltica’) is the variant through Łomża (Budzisko – Suwalki – Raczki – Cimochy – Kalinowo – Elk – Nowa Wies Elcka – Szczuczyn – Stawiski – Łomża – Ostrow Mazowiecka – Wyszkow – Warsaw). This route bypasses most of the Natura 2000 sites in NE Poland.

The strategy and SEA report were approved by the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate. The State Council for Nature Conservation and the National Council on EIAs - advisory bodies to the Ministry of Environment also endorsed the Via Baltica route recommended by the SEA in September 2008.

    A potential parking place already
    mapped out in the Rospuda Valley

To fulfil the requirements of the ESPOO Convention and EIA/SEA Directives, a “transboundary” consultation procedure with Lithuania was initiated by the Ministry of Environment. The relevant documents in Lithuanian language have been sent to the Lithuanian government at the end of 2008. The timescale for the transboundary consultation process and further decision-making on the Via Baltica route have not been made public.

NGOs are pleased that the SEA process finally resulted in a recommendation of the most appropriate route for ‘Via Baltica’, bypassing most valuable and protected sites of conservation concern. At the same time however, we are very concerned that the construction of the international standard road along road no. 8/S-8 is in fact still being pursued and presented as a priority project. For example, prior to the SEA results, works aiming at upgrading the existing road no. 8 to international standards are being continued, eg. construction works on the section Białystok-Katrynka with a huge road junction to link the S-8 with the planned S-19 and the Katrynka-Przewalanka upgrade within the boundaries of Knyszyn Forest site as well as the Sztabin Bypass through the Biebrza Marshes (both are Natura 2000 sites).

Moreover, Poland wishes to finance some of the planned projects with EU Cohesion Funds as the construction of S-8 expressroad between Bialystok and the Lithuanian border has been included in the indicative list of major projects within the Polish Operational Programme "Infrastructure and Environment" 2007-2013.

The section of Via Carpatia North of Bialystok overlaps with the most environmentally harmful route of Via Baltica (rejected by the SEA) and affects 3 Natura 2000 sites: Knyszyn Primeval Forest, Biebrza Marshes and Augustow Primeval Forest.

The Via Carpatia (S-19 expressway) as a whole would affect 18 existing and planned Natura 2000 sites and cross important migratory corridors for species such as wolf, lynx and bear. The decision-making process for the S-19 is not being carried out according to any SEA. The project of the road has been divided into several sections where separate Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are conducted. This kind of approach makes it impossible to find environmentally reasonable variants for the entire road.

The project has already received political support from the Polish government, which intends to add this road to the TEN-T network (in regard to TEN-T revision in 2010) and make it an international corridor qualifying for more easily available EU funding. Parts of the expressway have been already proposed to be cofunded by EU funds within the Operational Programme “Infrastructure and Environment” as TEN-T projects.


For more information, contact Marta Majka Wisniewska, the Bankwatcher from Polish Green Network monitoring the project's development.