Pipelife’s Stormwater Management Solution Helps Improve Road Safety in Western Poland

Zielona Góra is a city in western Poland known for its picturesque architecture, vast vineyards and for housing the country’s biggest wine festival. However, a section of the national road DK27 leading to the city has not been sharing its jovial reputation. Forming a busy intersection with a local voivodeship road, the site has had a high accident rate; therefore, a major reconstruction focusing on road safety was started this year. Pipelife Poland supplied Stormbox II crates for an underground infiltration system in the area to ensure uncompromised traffic function during heavy rainfalls.

_{Road Modernization Focusing on Traffic Safety}

Boasting one of the fastest-growing economies in the European Union, Poland has a strong focus on developing its transport infrastructure. The country intensively invests in constructing new roads as well as in renovating the existing ones — the National Road Construction Programme 2030 has the funding of almost PLN 300 billion, and the investments will result in nearly 8,000 kilometers of modern roads. One of the projects started this year envisions the modernization of an important junction near Zielona Góra.

The project site is at an intersection used by about 9,000 vehicles daily where a busy main artery meets a local roadway. Limited visibility, speeding and violating priority rules all lead to an increased number of accidents and collisions. To improve traffic safety in the area, the existing intersection will be replaced with a roundabout, and the access roads will be reconstructed. The main goal of the new network is to improve visibility to allow safe entry for vehicles on the connecting road.

_{Stormbox II Attenuation Crates Ensure Efficient Rainwater Removal}

Modernizing the existing road drainage system in the area is another crucial part of the reconstruction project. So far, drainage was managed by shallow ditches adjacent to the road. During heavy rain, water would remain in the ditches and even spill back onto the road, increasing the risk of accidents. The existing system had to be completely overhauled to ensure safe driving conditions on the new roundabout.

The area has fine sand and gravel soil with a groundwater depth of 5 meters. With no natural drainage in the vicinity and ground conditions being favorable for the use of infiltration devices, the investor opted for an underground retention system featuring an infiltration tank. Pipelife’s Stormbox II polypropylene boxes were selected as the best solution for the tank, and, once completed, the reservoir will have a capacity of over 150 m3.