Highways in Poland

Controlled-access highways in Poland are part of the national roads network and they are divided into motorways and expressways. Both types of highways feature grade-separated interchanges with all other roads, emergency lanes, feeder lanes, wildlife crossings and dedicated roadside rest areas. Motorways differ from expressways in their technical parameters like designated speed, permitted road curvature, lane widths or minimal distances between interchanges. Moreover, expressways might have single-carriageway sections in case of low traffic densities (as of 2026, such sections constitute 3% of the highway network).

The development of modern highways began in the 1970s, but proceeded very slowly under the communist rule and for the first years afterwards: between 1970 and 2000 only 434 km of highways (5% of the planned network) were constructed in total. Further 1050 km (13% of the network) were opened from 2001 to 2010, followed by 2773 km (34% of the network) constructed between 2011 and 2020. It is planned to open about 2450 km (30%) in the 2020s, while the last about 1500 km (18%) would be completed in the 2030s.

As of March 2026, there are 5,465.7 km of motorways and expressways in operation (66% of the intended network), while contracts for construction of a further 1112 km (14% of the network) are ongoing.

Except for the single-carriageway expressway sections, both types of highways fulfill the definition of a motorway as specified by OECD, WRA or Vienna Convention. Speed limits in Poland are 140 km/h on motorways and 120 km/h on expressways (100 km/h for single-carriageway expressway sections). Some motorway stretches are tolled.


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