A freeway S19 through Dukla, Tylawa, Barwinek is to be constructed

General Directorate for Environmental Protection in Poland supported the environment’s decision of the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Rzeszów from November of the previous year. It is a green light for building of express road S19 to Barwinek. For the time being, the General Director for National Roads and Motorways do not have money to start the project. 

The stretch of the freeway S19 in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship is as much as 174 km. So far, 12,7 km has been made. The whole route is to be finished until 2023. Road S19 is the most important stretch which will lead through all the east voivodeships in Poland. It will connect a border crossing with Belarussia in Kuznica with a border with Slovakia in Barwinek. The whole route will be 609 km long.

There were 5 appeals against the decision of November the previous year, however, the General Directorate for Environmental Protection in Warsaw supported the decision made by the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Rzeszów. In this way, it is a binding decision and the freeway S19 can be built (S19, Kuznica-Barwinek at the stretch Rzeszów South-Barwinek, length of 85 km).

The road will pass through 4 counties: Rzeszów, Strzyżów, Brzeziny and Krosno, among others through Rymanów, Iwonicz, Dukla. It took a long time for the official decision to be made, as at the time of building the road, a serious interference into the nature will have to be made  – there are plants, animals and mushrooms within the area of the works, they are covered under legal protection, endangered, there are rivers and migration routes of many predatory mammals from Bieszczady and the Lower Beskid: wolfs, lynxes and bears. There are reserves, two landscape parks, four areas of landscape under protection and as many as 5 areas of Natura 2000. Thus, provisions which protect the nature will be obligatory. There are plans to set acoustic screens, installation of equipment to clear the water and building of pathways for animals. The General Directorate’s decision does not mean the works will be started straight away. Financial issues concerning the investment must be taken care of first. The road is included on a list of investments. Projects realized within the National Roads Construction Programme for 2018-2023. The road will have 4 lanes, 2 in each direction. Entrance and exit will be enabled only through hubs, safe connections with roads of lower category. The hubs are planned among others in Miejsce Piastowe, Dukla, Tylawa and Barwinek.

In its final stretch to the border with Dukla, road S19 will lead through the following Lemko villages: Lipowinica, Nowa Wieś, Trzciana, Tylawa, to Barwinek.

S19 construction aims to connect the northern countries and the Baltic countries with the south of Poland and Europe.