The new 24-kilometre section of road, which runs between the northeastern Polish city of Suwałki and the village of Budziska on the Lithuanian border, was opened on Thursday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
EUR 220 million project co-funded by EU
The two-lane stretch includes 34 various road engineering facilities, including bridges, viaducts and overpasses, according to officials. It cost PLN 1.04 billion (EUR 220 million), partly funded from the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), they said.
Poland’s Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk told reporters on Thursday: “Via Baltica is evidence of the government’s determination, as well as good cooperation with our neighbours. The Lithuanian authorities have also realised that this expressway is especially important for the economic development of our region of Europe. And so they are working hard to complete their own section of Via Baltica.”
Regional development, 'military significance'
Adamczyk said at an opening ceremony that “in the face of the war started by Russia in Ukraine, the Suwałki-Budziska road has military significance.”
His words were echoed by Lithuania’s Transport and Communications Minister Marius Skuodis, who said: “This road is important not just for civilian traffic, but military traffic as well.”
Later on Thursday, Poland's Adamczyk declared that the entire Polish section of Via Baltica would be ready by the end of 2023, the PAP news agency reported.
Speaking in an interview with the state-run TVP Info news channel, Adamczyk said: “Nobody believed that Via Baltica would become reality ... but we are delivering on our pledges ... and by the end of 2023 this entire road will be ready for use.”
Friday is day 303 of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, gov.pl, wgospodarce.pl