Warsaw  - A highway in northeastern Poland will be built along a new route to avoid harming valuable marshlands, Environment Minister Maciej Nowicki said on Tuesday.

The new route will only be 2 kilometres longer and also cheaper than the controversial proposal cutting through the scenic Rospuda Valley, Nowicki said.

The highway caused controversy for several years between ecologists and local residents who wanted it built quickly to ease traffic congestion, the Polish Press Agency reported.

The European Union accused Poland in 2007 of breaking EU law over the proposed road, but said Tuesday it would withdraw the complaint if the valley is left unharmed. (dpa)