WARSAW, Poland, July 19 (UPI) -- Poland may face a European court move if it restarts construction of a road in the environmentally protected Rospuda Valley close to the Lithuanian border.
The European Commission is threatening to take the issue before the European Court of Justice to stop construction of the controversial road in northeastern Poland, Polish Radio said Thursday.
Activists in Polish environment protection groups this year protested against the road that they said would endanger a number of rare animal species.
Polish government officials recently said the construction of the road will begin Aug. 1.
The Rospuda Valley is natural habitats of lynx, wolf and the two globally endangered birds -- the greater spotted eagle and aquatic warbler.
Officials said they want to relieve traffic congestion caused by thousands of vehicles that daily block the town of Augustow on the way from Lithuania.
Poland plans to build a bridge over the Rospuda Valley as part of the 25-mile bypass to avoid putting at risk various species of the flora and fauna.
The bypass would be a section of the Via Baltica highway leading from Helsinki, Finland, to Warsaw, the radio said.
