Major Pothole Patching and Road Investment Resumption After Frost Subsides

The final days of February brought a clear change in weather, forcing road administrators across the country to undertake immediate repair actions. This winter, characterized by sharp temperature drops, has left numerous potholes in the asphalt, which drivers refer to as "Swiss cheese." The most difficult situation is in Olsztyn, Malbork, and Bucharest, where thawing snow has exposed craters that threaten safety and are causing expensive suspension failures. Local mechanical workshops are reporting increased business, linked to a plague of damaged rims and tires. In Wrocław, as part of the "Wrocław on a Good Road" program, workers will appear this coming weekend on Powstańców Śląskich, Grabiszyńska, and Żernicka streets. The work there will include milling the surface and adjusting manholes. Poznań is conducting similar actions, where road workers are patching potholes, among other places in the Morasko area, though not without controversy regarding the quality of repairs carried out on Stróżyńskiego Street. Meanwhile, in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, the modernization of the Wąbrzeźno bypass is resuming, which involves the closure of two roundabouts and the introduction of alternating one-way traffic. The mechanism of pothole formation in asphalt after winter results from water seeping into surface cracks, which expands when it freezes and bursts the road structure from within.The situation on expressways is stabilizing after the flooding crisis. The S6 expressway between Karwice and Sławno was fully reopened on Thursday afternoon. The cause of the unprecedented flooding of the route was a combination of factors: heavily frozen ground that lost its permeability and rapid snowmelt from surrounding fields. Firefighters spent nearly three days pumping out water using high-capacity pumps. In parallel, breakthrough news arrived for Western Pomerania – the National Appeals Chamber dismissed appeals in tenders for two sections of the Western Bypass of Szczecin with a total value of nearly 8 billion złoty. The Western Bypass of Szczecin is a project whose concept dates back to the 1990s, and its most important element is to be the longest road tunnel in Poland under the Oder River.„Grunt był bardzo mocno zamrożony i nie było jego przesiąkliwości. Przypominał beton. Nie było filtracji wody. Na to nałożyły się roztopy śniegowe z okolicznych pól.” — Mateusz GrzeszczukWhen planning the upcoming weekend, drivers must account not only for repairs but also for water network failures. In Szczecin on Stalmacha Street and in Wrocław in the area of Kamienna Street, repair works will be conducted, causing changes to public transport routes and temporary water supply interruptions. The ZDM in Poznań also warns of two-month disruptions on Naramowicka Street due to sewer construction.