The Prime Minister has proposed a local referendum as a democratic solution to the conflict over the building of a bypass road that would go across the Rospuda valley river.

Environmental activists including Greanpeace threaten to block the construction.

They also propose an alternative bypass plan, which would be less favorable to local people, but, as Greenpeace activists claim, more environment-friendly.

The Polish government argues that the alternative route would break EU rules and would be more harmful to the natural beauty that surrounds the area.

Meantime, people of Augustów have organized demonstrations to ask for the construction of the motorway as soon as possible, which, they say, will protect their children from getting killed by heavy traffic in the city.

The planned road - part of the E67, or Via Baltica - will form a major link from Helsinki to Prague and greatly increase trade in the area.

Currently around one and a half million trucks drive through the town every year, causing traffic accidents and casualties, damage and congestion.