A vector dataset of the high-speed road network in Poland integrated with commissioning year information (1936-2023)

The High-Speed Road Network Vector Data with Construction Year Attribution for Poland (HiRoN-PL) provide spatially and temporally explicit data documenting the development of the high-speed road network in Poland between 1936 and 2023. The dataset is distributed in GeoPackage format containing vector line features representing the time-stamped high-speed road network in Poland. HiRoN-PL road geometries are derived from OpenStreetMap (OSM) 'way' objects corresponding to high-speed road classes in Poland, namely motorways and expressways (dual carriageways). The selected OSM road sections were aligned with authoritative data provided by the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA), the central authority responsible for national roads in Poland. First, the authoritative GDDKiA road geometries were attributed with commissioning dates based on expert interpretation of information from GDDKiA records, public registers, and verified crowdsourced data sources. Second, the geometry of OSM road sections was adjusted to reflect distinct construction phases as defined by the authoritative data. The resulting OSM-derived road network was then assigned with temporal attributes, including the year, month, and day of commissioning, as well as the road segment name, class, and the names of the road junctions that designate the starting and ending nodes of each segment. The dataset includes additional attributes, such as the length of each section and identifiers linking to the source OSM and authoritative data. HiRoN-PL allows for spatial-historical analyses of transport infrastructure development at a national level, enabling multi-temporal accessibility modelling and assessment of transportation efficiency over time. The dataset can be used to support analyses related to the monitoring of land use changes, the impact of transport and planning policies, or the effects and impacts of European Union investment policies. Data (version 1.1) are publicly available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19570041.