Twenty-four kilometres of the new S61 Suwałki – Budzisko route

Budimex has completed the construction and commissioned a 24-kilometre section of the S61 express route from Suwałki to the state border with Lithuania – the Via Baltica. In recent years, the Polish general contractor has completed a total of 94 kilometres of this route out of the 130 kilometres in operation.

Investment in the open section of the S61 under the 'design and build' system began in January 2020. The investor was the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways in Białystok. Budimex took over this task after another general contractor left the site.

‘At its peak, 600 hundred people and nearly 300 units of equipment were working on the site. We processed a total of 1.3 million tonnes of soil, the equivalent of the weight of four Empire State Buildings in New York. The construction was demanding; we altered the course of two river beds. We built 63 drainage ditches to properly drain the site. The difficult weather conditions prevailing in this part of Poland were a challenge. In order to secure the area, we built column reinforcements with a total length of over 200 km’, says Cezary Łysenko – Member of the Management Board of Budimex – Director of the Budimex Infrastructure Construction Division.

The value of the investment amounted to PLN 843 million. This is another section of the S61 route implemented by the Polish contractor. In 2021 Budimex also completed the construction of the sections: Stawiski – Szczuczyn bypass and Wysokie Raczki, with a total length of 39 kilometres. In total, with the completed section up to the Lithuanian border, Budimex has completed 94 kilometres of the Via Baltica route in various sections, adds Cezary Łysenko.

The scope of work included the construction of the S61 dual carriageway expressway, approximately 24.2 km long, with two road junctions: Suwałki Północ junction and Szypliszki junction.

Five car parks for travellers were built – as part of motorway service areas: Budzisko Wschód, Budzisko Zachód and Żubryn, as well as a vehicle inspection site for road services. The expressway also included two social buildings for passengers with playgrounds for children. In total, thirty-three bridges were built along the entire section.