Drivers are in for a big surprise. This is about the A4 motorway

The General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways has started the next stage of preparations for the removal of toll collection infrastructure on the state section of the A4 motorway between Gliwice and Wrocław. Bids submitted in the tender for the demolition of toll plazas and associated facilities have already been opened. This is the next step after the abolition of tolls for passenger cars and motorcycles, which has been in force since July 2023.

Five contractors submitted to the tender. The four submitted offers fit within the investor’s budget of just under PLN 11 million. The lowest proposal was presented by a company from Chełm Śląski, estimating the task at approximately PLN 7.3 million. Currently, GDDKiA is analyzing the documentation before selecting a contractor.

Elimination of gates on A4

The planned investment will include the Żernica Toll Collection Square and toll collection stations in Bojkowo, Ostropie, Kleszczów and Łany. All of them are located on the state-owned section of the A4 motorway between Gliwice and Wrocław.

If the proceedings are completed as planned, the contract with the contractor will be signed in the fourth quarter of 2026. Then the company will have five months to prepare design documentation, obtain the required decisions and permits, and develop the organization of works. Only after this stage is completed will demolition works begin.

The work will take about a year

Construction works are expected to last seven months. They will include not only the demolition of the gates and service buildings, but also the reconstruction of the road surface and the adaptation of the highway to the target traffic organization. After the investment is completed, drivers will use the route without the former toll collection infrastructure.

The toll gates on this part of the A4 were operational from 2012 to 2023. The toll section was approximately 164 km long, and traveling the entire route by car or motorcycle cost PLN 16.20. The situation changed on July 1, 2023, when regulations came into force abolishing tolls on state highway sections for vehicles with a total permissible weight of up to 3.5 tons and motorcycles.

The next important change will take place in 2027

Although passenger car drivers no longer pay tolls on the section between Gliwice and Wrocław, the toll collection system still serves vehicles with a permissible weight above 3.5 tons and buses.

This is not the end of changes on the A4 motorway. In March 2027, the concession for the Katowice-Kraków section, currently managed by Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska, will expire. After the route is taken over by GDDKiA, this section will also become free for drivers of passenger cars and motorcycles. This means another stage of moving away from traditional toll gates on state highways.