MON wants to build a fresh road for the war on Russia. It's expected to connect 8 cities

The Ministry of National Defence presented the concept of building a dedicated expressway, which is called laboriously Via Pomeraniawhich is intended to service only the fast spread of troops in the event of armed conflict. The way planned under the “Pact for safety of Poland – Central Pomerania” programme is to connect 8 key centres in northern and central Poland, where units of armed forces are stationed. The investment may take up to a decade, and its cost is estimated at over PLN 12 billion.

The Ministry of National Defence has proposed to build a peculiar expressway, called the Via Pomerania labour road, whose task will be to rapidly relocate troops in the event of a conflict. The way is to pass through the northern and central regions of Poland.

The decision to invest is due to the increasing tension in the east Europe region and the experience of the conflict in Ukraine. According to experts, without a dedicated military artillery, the spread of allied troops – even counting 100,000 soldiers – could face serious difficulties, especially during the tourist period or with increased traffic on public roads. Maciej Samsonovich, advisor to the national defence minister, emphasises that

"The preparation of specified infrastructure is the last line of defence – it is better to invest sooner than later to pay more in the restoration of human and hardware potential".

Although the authoritative way of Via Pomerania will be yet determined only after the Council of Ministers has transferred the funds and prepared the documentation, preliminary analyses indicate the course of the road through the country's strategical points. Ustka, as a port on the Baltic, is to supply fast access for maritime military transport, and Słupsk serves as logistical facilities. Chojnice and Inowrocław are crucial transport hubs of national roads, Tuchola will avoid crowded sections, and Bydgoszcz, thanks to air bases and the mobilization centre, will gain a fresh connection to the confederate part of the country. Konin and Kalisz in turn will let for further division of forces to the south and west of Poland.

The estimated investment costs exceed PLN 12 billion, and the work schedule, without peculiar facilitations in land expropriation or environmental procedures, can extend up to a decade. However, it is assumed that erstwhile a dedicated bill is passed to accelerate the investment process, the construction time will be reduced to 8 years. In parallel, MON besides plans another strategical investments, specified as the Red Road with the Kwiatkowski Estakada in Gdynia, improving the fast connectivity of seaports to the network of expressways and highways.

The implementation of Via Pomerania is to become 1 of the pillars of the Polish defence strategy, importantly improving the ability to respond rapidly in crisis situations and expanding the mobility of allied troops in Poland.

"Our approach is the last line of defence against war, which is not a dream and is coming. We can argue whether it will come in 4 years or 7 years, but if we do not do everything we can to prepare, we will not have the chance to respond during the crisis. It is better to invest in this sooner than to pay 100 times more to rebuild, including human potential. We presume that in the hr leading up to the crisis we will have 2-3 weeks to respond," explains Maciej Samsonowicz, advisor to the national defence minister

Planned route

Although the authoritative task has not yet been routed, preliminary analyses indicate the following points on the north-south axis:

1. Mouth – strategical port on the Baltic.
2. Słupsk – logistics facilities.
3. Chojniki – key intersection of national roads.
4. Tuchola – forest area, the anticipation of avoiding traffic spots.
5. Bydgoszcz – mobilization center with air bases.
6. Inowrocław – an crucial communication hub.
7. Horse Industrial facilities.
8. Kalisz – confederate end of the way with access to further expressways

Other MON projects

Next to Via Pomerania, MON is besides considering building the so-called. Red Road together with Kwiatkowski's Estakada in Gdynia, which would let better communication of the seaport with the network of expressways and highways.