On 28 August, Budimex SA together with the investor of the Białystok City Hall officially opened the Independence Route – the western bypass of the centre of the capital of Podlasie. Drivers can now drive through the rebuilt Niepodległości and Paderewskiego Avenues, which are now dual carriageway streets running in a trench, with two lanes in each direction, two-lane bicycle paths and new pavements.
Budimex SA started work at the end of 2016. During this time, it carried out tasks on the main arteries and on the reconstruction of technical infrastructure. In total, the leader of the construction industry in Poland built 7.3 km of the main road at this investment. The company also operated on roads intersecting with both avenues. In total, there were as many as 8 of them, and each, excluding ul. Magnoliowa, was connected to the main street by a service road with a circular intersection. “The Independence Route is a strategic investment for Białystok. It will provide convenient travel between distant housing estates without the need to enter the city centre – Artur Popko, Construction Director and Vice-President of Budimex SA.
The works were carried out in two stages. Stage II, including Aleja Niepodległości and adjacent roads, resulted in the construction of 5 road viaducts, which are elements of roundabouts, as well as 4 pedestrian and bicycle bridges, located at the Armii Krajowej Roundabout and the Wrocławska Roundabout. Drivers will also pass through two road tunnels – at the Popiełuszki Roundabout and the Hetmańska Roundabout.
In turn, the third stage of the investment included the reconstruction of Paderewski Avenue. The engineering structures located at this section include m.in. a tunnel under the railway tracks, or road viaducts, including one over the railway siding. As in the case of Aleja Niepodległości, the roads are supplemented with bicycle paths and sidewalks that run at ground level.
The scale of the investment carried out by Budimex SA for Białystok is indicated by the numbers concerning the quantitative scope of works. In both stages of the construction of the Independence Route, the contractor excavated 975 thousand. m3 of land and consumed 197 thousand. m3 of soil to create the necessary embankments. During the works, 285 thousand. m2 of crushed aggregate and 193 thousand. m2 of asphalt concrete. Armaments works are also impressive, for which 5 million 202 thousand were used. kg of material. “Industry works, on the other hand, are in kilometers. Along the Independence Route, we have created or rebuilt 11.2 km of water supply network, over 36 km of rainwater drainage, almost 44 km of lighting cable network and 19.1 km of power network – says Artur Popko.
