On Friday, they will open a significant section of S7 in Krakow. Just one step remains to complete the ring.
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On Friday, drivers will be able to use two lanes in each direction above the S7 viaducts.
The changes to local traffic organization will begin as early as Thursday, October 29.
The full connection between S7 and route S52 is set to open at the turn of November and December.
The construction of the S7 expressway in the northeast part of Kraków is nearing completion. On Friday in the early afternoon, the General Directorate of National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) plans to open both lanes on the viaducts in the Mistrzejowice interchange area.
This will allow drivers coming from Warsaw and Kielce to continue their journey on S7 directly toward Nowa Huta. Two lanes will also be available in the opposite direction. A speed limit of 80 km/h will apply on the viaducts.
S7 to Pass Through Mistrzejowice
The opening of the overpasses does not yet mean that the entire interchange will be available in its final configuration.
About 400 meters after the Mistrzejowice II interchange, two lanes will be combined back into one. On the section leading toward the Nowa Huta interchange, the current traffic organization will remain in place.
Not all routes between S7 and the S52 Northern Ring Road of Kraków (POK) will be available immediately. Temporarily, some trips will require a detour via the Raciborowice interchange.
GDDKiA has been announcing phased openings of this project since early October. The activation of the overpasses in Mistrzejowice is the second of the most important steps toward completing the construction.
First changes already on Thursday
The new traffic arrangement will begin to be implemented one day earlier.
On Thursday around noon, the outer lane of the roundabout at the Mistrzejowice II interchange will be opened. Traffic from the former Łowińskiego Street will be divided into two lanes leading to and from the roundabout.
The existing connection between Nowolipka Street and Okulickiego Street will also disappear. Drivers will take the intended route along Nowolipka to the roundabout. Traffic will remain two-way.
No major changes are planned for Okulickiego Street itself, and the speed limit will remain at 40 km/h.
The next change will occur on Friday around 3 p.m. At that time, the section of Łowińskiego Street between the roundabout at the Grębałów interchange and Ujastek Street is set to be opened for vehicles.
Kraków getting closer to a complete ring road
The missing section of S7 is the final element needed to connect the northern and eastern parts of Kraków’s road ring. The northern bypass of Kraków along S52 has been in use since December 2024, but fully utilizing its capabilities requires completing the Mistrzejowice interchange and connecting it to S7.
GDDKiA expects the next key phase to take place at the turn of November and December. By then, the remaining connections between S7 and S52 are set to open.
Only then can we speak of the complete completion of the highway ring around Kraków. Drivers coming from areas such as Katowice or Rzeszów will be able to bypass the city both from the south via highway A4 and from the north via routes S52 and S7. Kraków will thus become the second city in Poland, after Łódź, to be surrounded by a complete highway ring.
Final works will continue until the end of the year
The connection between S7 and S52 alone will not yet complete all work.
By the end of the year, GDDKiA plans to make available the exits and entrances at the Mistrzejowice interchange leading to the local road network, primarily Petofiego and Okulickiego streets. This will be the final phase of building the entire S7 section from Widoma to Kraków.
The total length of this project is 18.3 km. It includes interchanges such as Łuczyce, Raciborowice, and Grębałów, as well as the expanded Mistrzejowice I and Mistrzejowice II complexes. The contract value for design and construction is nearly 1.49 billion zł.
Therefore, the opening on Friday will not yet mark the symbolic ribbon-cutting for the entire project, but it represents a major change for drivers. For the first time, they will be able to use both lanes of S7 via the overpasses in Mistrzejowice, with only a few weeks left until the two expressways are fully connected.