Expressway S5 (Poland)

Expressway S5 or express road S5 (droga ekspresowa S5) is a Polish highway which runs from Grudziądz (connecting to motorway A1 towards Gdańsk) through Poznań (partial concurrency with motorway A2) to Wrocław (connecting to motorway A8).

The expressway was constructed between 2009 and 2022. Its total length is about 353 km.

In 2015, it was announced that S5 will be further extended from Grudziądz to Ostróda (connecting to S7). In 2019, an extension from Wrocław to Bolków (connecting to S3 near the border with Czech Republic) was added to the plans. Both extensions are intended to be completed as part of the road construction plan until 2033, which will increase the total length of the expressway to about 508 km.

History
The construction of the road received higher priority after Poland was selected as one of the hosts of the UEFA Euro 2012 championship, since it would have provided a direct connection between three of the four Polish cities hosting matches: Poznań, Wrocław and Gdańsk. However, plans to finish the road before the championship were proven too optimistic and only a section between the A2 motorway and Gniezno (35 km), opened on 4 June 2012, was completed by that time. This fragment of S5 serves as the eastern bypass of Poznań.

In October 2015, the planned future route of the expressway has been extended from the Nowe Marzy junction (near Grudziądz) to Ostróda. In November 2015, contracts were signed for the Gniezno-Grudziądz section, a total of about 150 km. In May 2017, the continuation of the S5 from the end of the eastern bypass of Poznań to just north of Gniezno opened to traffic, thus diverting most transit traffic away from Gniezno itself. In 2019, the planned route was extended from Wrocław to Bolków. In 2022, the last section of the original route was completed.