Changes in the traffic organisation at the Giszowiec interchange in Katowice

By the end of March, another change in the traffic organisation will take place at the intersection of Pszczyńska Street (DK 86) with 73 Pułku Piechoty Street (DK 81), Kolista Street and Karolinki Street.

”In the first place, traffic on Pszczyńska Street will be transferred from the eastern roadway to the western roadway, i.e. to the newly built roadway in the direction of Tychy. This means that the traffic of cars will take place on one lane, both towards Katowice and Tychy. About a week after the introduction of this change, a section of Kolista Street under a demolished old road flyover will be closed. The section will be closed for no more than three weeks, and efforts will be made to reduce the closure period. During this time, it will be possible for drivers to turn back at the intersection with Górniczego Stanu Street,” says Tomasz Kawalec, the construction manager from NDI – the general contractor.

The next stage will be to lead the traffic along the new road in two lanes towards Tychy on the section of Pszczyńska Street from the A4 motorway to the exit to Kolista and 73 Pułku Piechoty streets and one lane towards Katowice. According to the schedule, it should take place in May.

This is the largest road investment in the city since the construction of the tunnel under gen. Jerzego Ziętka Roundabout and consists of two main parts. The first one is the construction of a new grade-separated interchange of two national roads – Pszczyńska Street (DK86) and 73 Pułku Piechoty Street (DK81) and extension of Pszczyńska Street (DK86) from the A4 motorway to Górniczego Stanu Street. Therefore, the supra-local connection of the southern part of the Katowice agglomeration with its central zone and the urban area of the south-eastern part of Katowice will be improved in terms of connection with national roads and the city centre.

“The second part covers the extension of the existing road interchange of Pszczyńska Street (DK 86) with 73 Pułku Piechoty, Karolinki, and Kolista streets, serving local traffic. New, collision-free connections will also be built for pedestrians and cyclists. As a result of the reconstruction, the intersection of Pszczyńska and 73 Pułku Piechoty streets will be two-level, and local traffic will be separated from the transit one. Therefore, two interchanges will be created here: one will distribute transit traffic in the direction of Tychy, Cieszyn and Skoczów and north towards the A-4 motorway, and further towards Kraków and Wrocław as well as Łódź and Gdańsk, and the other will be dedicated to local traffic – towards Giszowiec, Murcki and Ochojec,” says Bogusław Lowak, Head of the Transport Department of the Katowice City Hall. The cost of the entire investment is PLN 247.5 million, of which as much as PLN 210 million is a subsidy obtained under the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment.

The introduction of changes in the temporary traffic organisation, which are planned for the end of March, will enable the start of the following works:
On DK86, the construction of eastern roadways on the section from the W1 flyover to the W4 flyover, the demolition of the existing flyovers and construction of new eastern W2 and W3 flyovers over the railway lines, as well as the demolition of the existing W4 flyover and the construction of a new W4 flyover over Kolista Street. On DK81, it will be possible to build the southern roadway.

Additionally, in the coming months, NDI will:
– carry out the switching works of the new DN1200 water main
– continue the construction of the new T5B underground passage under Pszczyńska Street (DK86)
– build the west roadway of DK86 on the section from the T5A underground passage to the T5B underground passage
– reconstruct the intersections of Kolista, 73 Pułku Piechoty and Karolinki streets
– build slip roads A and D at the Giszowiec interchange
– reconstruct a section of Kolista Street from the side of the Giszowiec estate
– continue the construction of the rainwater drainage system, road lighting, and power and telecommunication networks

The investment in numbers:

– number of vehicles passing daily through DK86 before reconstruction – 56,000 vehicles
– quantity of mineral and bituminous mixtures – 82,000 Mg
– total length of new sections of national roads under construction – 3.6 km
– number of slip roads of both road interchanges – 9 pcs.
– number of new road flyovers – 6 pcs.
– number of new underground passages – 2 pcs.
– quantity of reinforcing steel – 1,460 Mg
– quantity of concrete – 14,500 m3
– weight of the W2 flyover supporting structure made of steel girders – 283 Mg
– weight of the W3 flyover supporting structure made of steel girders – 495 Mg
– supporting structure of the W4 flyover made of prefabricated T30-type prestressed reinforced concrete beams – 45 pcs.
– supporting structure of the W7 flyover made of prefabricated T27-type prestressed reinforced concrete beams  – 36 pcs.
– length of the reconstructed DN1200 mm water main made of PN16 pressure ductile cast iron  – 1,326 lm
– length of DN 1842 and DN 1937 GRP casing pipes made using the microtunneling technology for the DN 1200 main water supply network – 384 lm
– length of the reconstructed gas pipelines – 2,710 lm
– length of the rainwater drainage system – 9,265 lm