Highways in Romania
Highways in Romania are dual carriageways, grade separated with controlled-access, designed for high speeds. In 2012, legislation amendments defined two types of highways: motorways (Romanian: Autostrazi) and expressways (Romanian: Drumuri expres).
The main differences are that motorways have emergency lanes and the maximum allowed speed limit is 130 km/h (81 mph), while expressways do not and the speed limit is 120 km/h (75 mph).[1]
The EU accession of the country in 2007, and the improved in the recent years utilization of the allocated EU funds enabled Romania to speed up the expansion of its highway network.
There are no toll roads in Romania, but a vignette is required, except for municipal roads.
The Government of Romania plans to spend 4 billion euro in the next years on 289 km of new motorways; another 5 billion euro for highway construction will come from the EU’s transport operational programme, according to official data.[2] There is a plan for roughly 2,000 km of highways that would connect all major cities in Romania to highways in Western and Central Europe.
Motorways
Motorways are identified by A followed by a number. There are few tolls for using roads in Romania. There is one at the Giurgeni – Vadu Oii Bridge over the river Danube on highway DN2A at Vadu Oii and one at the Cernavodă Bridge, on the A2 motorway, a 17 km long section between Feteşti and Cernavodă which consists of two road/railway bridges. Nevertheless, every owner of a car that uses a motorway (A) or a national road (DN) in Romania must purchase a vignette (rovinietă) from any of the main petrol stations or at any post office throughout the country.[3]
History
In 1967 began the first construction of a motorway in Romania. The first segment of A1 motorway, from Pitesti to the capital Bucharest of 96 km was opened in 1972.Until the 1989 revolution, only in 1987 a segment of 18 km on A2 from Fetesti to Cernavoda was opened, the entire motorway network totaling to 113 km.
After the revolution, in the 90's it passed a period of transition from a centralized economy to a market economy. The economic shock therapy imposed harsh cuts from investments in infrastructure, which resulted in a decade with no motorway openings.
In 2001 the work began on 3 segments part of A2. The opening was in 2004: Bucharest — Fundulea 26.5 km, Fundulea — Lehliu 29.1 km, Lehliu — Drajna 41,6 km.
In 2007 another segment from A2 was opened: Drajna — Fetesti 37 km. Also in 2007 an other segment from A1 opened Pitesti Bypass 14 km.
After joining the European Union, Romania could access funds for development of the infrastructure. Thus Romania contracted many segments of motorway, and in the next years a series of openings took place: beginning December 2009 Gilau - Turda 42 km on A3 Motorway.
In November 2010 Turda — Campia Turzii 10 km on A3 Motorway, and in December 2010 Sibiu Bypass on A1 Motorway.
By December 2011 the A1 segment Timisoara — Arad 32.3 km, A2 segment Medgidia - Constanta 14.5 km, A4 Constanta bypass 9.4 km, A11 Arad bypass 12.3 km were partially(some half profile and expected full profile by following year) or fully opened.[4]
By December 2012 on A1 the segment Deva — Simeria 14.8 km was opened, also on A2 Cernavoda - Medgidia 20.5 km, on A3 Bucharest Bypass - Ploiesti 55.5 km, A4 Constanta Bypass 10.4 km.
A6 Balint-Lugoj 11 km in Dec. 2013 — the first segment of A6 Motorway was finalized; A1 Lugoj-Deva lot1 17.4 km in Dec. 2013, A1 Sibiu-Orastie the lots 1,2 and 4 of 24.1 km, 19.8 km, and 16.1 km in Dec. 2013, A4 (Lazu-Portul Constanta) 2 km in Jul. 2013 - the Constanta By-Pass was complete, and A1 Orastie-Simeria 17.7 km in May 2013.
Recent openings were: on A1 Saliste-Cunta (Sibiu-Orastie lot 3) of 22.1 km in Nov. 2014, Arad-Nadlac 28.2 km (partial opening of the total of 38 km)in Dec. 2014, A1 Arad-Nadlac 10.6 km(the remainder portion) in July 2015, Timisoara — Lugoj lot 2 segment of 26 km wit from Lugoj — Deva Lot 1 10 km(the remainder portion) in Dec. 2015.
As of December 2015, 732 km are opened and are operational.[5]
A1 Motorway
A1 Bucuresti-Nadlac Motorway, part of the Pan European IV Corridor the northern branch, has opened as of December 2015 372 km of the total approximate length of 577 km, representing the following sections: Bucharest-Pitești (1972), Pitești bypass (2007), Sibiu bypass (2010), Timișoara-Arad (2011), Arad bypass (2012), Timișoara-Lugoj lot 1 (2012), Deva-Simeria (2012), Simeria-Orăștie(2013), Orăștie-Sibiu lots 1, 2 and 4 (2013), Lugoj-Deva lot 1 (2013), Orăștie-Sibiu lot 3 (2014), Nădlac-Arad lot 1 (2014), Nădlac-Arad lot 2 (2015) and Timișoara-Lugoj lot 2 (2015).
As of December 2015 the following segments are in progress: Lugoj-Deva lots 2, 3 and 4 of 72 km (to be finalized in Iun 2017) and the feasibility study for the Sibiu-Pitești section is underway (to be finalized in September 2016).
A2 (Sun motorway)
A2 Bucharest–Constanța Motorway has 206 km and is the first motorway in Romania fully opened.
A3 Motorway
A3 Bucuresti-Bors Motorway with its 477 km is the biggest project in Central Europe. It consists of two portions: Bucharest - Ploiesti with 62 km and Brasov - Bors(Oradea)(also called the Transylvania Motorway) with 415 km. It will connect the north-western region called Transylvania with the capital of Romania - Bucharest and with Hungary. In 2014 only 110 out of 477 km were in service.
A3 has the following segments: Bucharest–Ploiesti, Brasov - Targu-Mures, Targu-Mures - Gilau(Cluj-Napoca West), Gilau-Bors(Oradea) As of 2014 the following segments are finalized: Turda-Gilau(in 2009) 42 km and Turda-Campia Turzii(in 2010) 10 km out of the 107 km from the Targu-Mures - Gilau segment, Bucharest Bypass - Ploiesti(2012) 55 out of 62 km from the Bucharest - Ploiesti segment. Another 3.5 km out of the 6.5 km stretch between the Bucharest Bypass and Bucharest were finalized in 2014, which is part of the Bucharest-Ploiesti segment, but are not connected with an interchange, the remaining 3 km are tendered.
As of 2015 the following segments are in progress: 55 km Targu-Mures - Campia Turzii which is part of the Targu-Mures - Gilau segment is due in 2017-2018, Gilau-Nadaselu an 8.7 km stretch is due in 2016, Nadaselu-Mihaesti is tendered, and Suplacu de Barcau-Bors was just attributed, is already built approximately 50% by the previous contractor(Bechtel) and is due in 2017-2018.
A4 Motorway
A4: Constanța bypass 22 km – in service.
It is planned to be extended to the Bulgarian border, another 45 km which would make it a total of 67 km.
A6 Motorway
A6 Motorway is the southern branch of the former Pan European Corridor IV and will connect Lugoj with Sofia, Athens and Istanbul. in Romania has a total length of 260 km A6 motorway has opened a 11.4 km stretch and connects A1 Motorway to Lugoj Bypass.
A7 Motorway
The former route of Pan-European Corridor IX was Giurgiu - Bucharest Ring Expressway - Urziceni - Buzău - Râmnicu-Sărat - Focșani - Tecuci - Bârlad - Huși - Albița. Initially A7 Motorway followed approximately (because it only joint corridor IX at Buzău) the Corridor IX route. The distance from Ploiești to Albița was 314 km.
Since 2014 plans in favor of a motorway past Focșani were scrapped in favor of an expressway towards Bacău and then join A8 near Pașcani, then continue north pass Suceava and end at Siret(the Ukrainian border). The new route of A7 from Ploiești to Siret will have 440 km. The motorway from Focșani to Albița (155 km) will have a different route number assigned.
As of 2015, A7 section Ploiești-Pașcani has a total of 290 km, of which a 17 km stretch (also called Bacău East Bypass) began to be constructed in 2015 as a half-profile.
A8 Motorway
A8 Târgu Mureș - Pașcani - Iași is a motorway that will connect regions of Transylvania and Moldavia. It has a length of 318.8 km and starts at A3 join near Târgu Mureș, passes through Pașcani (join with A7), and ends at Iași (border with Moldova). The section between Târgu Neamț - Iași (102 km) is in the feasibility studies revision process, and might have a preliminary delivery date around 2021-2023.
A10 Motorway
A10 Motorway has a length of 70 km and starts near Sebes and ends near Turda. It is the first motorway in Romania to connect 2 motorways: A1 Motorway and A3 Motorway. It is to be finished in 2017.
A11 Motorway
Also called Arad Bypass, is a short 3.5 km stretch which connects A1 Motorway to DN7.
Planned motorways
The other project have been recently brought up, the A12 Craiova-Pitești motorway projects. The Romanian National Company of Motorways and National Roads (CNADNR) intends to organize a tender for the design and construction of the two motorway projects.
List
| Trunk Motorway | Route | Planned (km) / Built (km) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
A1 motorway  |
Bucharest – Pitești – Sibiu – Deva – Timișoara – Arad – Nădlac –> Hungary | 577 / 372 | Bucharest – Pitești (109.5 km), Sibiu – Deva (132 km), Traian Vuia - Nădlac (142.3 km) sections are operational; works ongoing on another 71.8 km between Deva and Lugoj; the remaining section between Pitești and Sibiu to be completed by 2020. |
A2 motorway  |
Bucharest – Fetești – Cernavodă – Constanța | 203 / 203 | Operational on the entire length; first fully completed Romanian motorway. |
A3 motorway  |
Bucharest – Ploiești – Brașov – Sighișoara – Târgu Mureș – Cluj-Napoca – Zalău – Oradea – Borș –> Hungary | 477 / 107 | Bucharest Ring Road – Ploiești (55 km) and Câmpia Turzii – Gilǎu (52 km) sectors are operational; Bucharest Ring Road – Bucharest (6.5 km) segment under construction; Gilău – Nădășel (8.5 km) segment due in 2016; Targu-Mures-Campia Turzii(55 km) due in 2017-2018, Suplacu de Barcau-Bors awarded in 2015. |
A4 motorway  |
Ovidiu – Agigea – Mangalia – Vama Veche –> Bulgaria | ~60 / 22 | Constanța bypass complete, between Ovidiu and the Port of Constanța. Agigea – Vama Veche section planned. |
A5 motorway  |
Brașov – Bacău | 160 / 0 | Mentioned in the 2014 Masterplan[6] |
A6 motorway  |
Junction with A1 near Lugoj – Drobeta-Turnu Severin – Calafat | 260 / 11 | Operational between the junction with A1 and the Lugoj bypass.[7] |
A7 motorway  |
Splitting from A3 near Ploiești – Buzău – Focșani – Bacău – Pașcani | ? / 0 | Bacău bypass was considered for tendering in 2013. |
A8 motorway  |
Târgu Mureș (junction with A3) – Târgu Neamț – Pașcani - Iași –> Moldova | 318 / 0 | East–West motorway between regions of Transylvania and Moldavia. Feasibility studies conducted in 2009-2011; feasibility studies revision and update contracted in 2015.[8] |
A10 motorway  |
Junction with A1 near Sebeș – Junction with A3 near Turda | 70 / 0 | Works in progress, to be completed by 2017. |
A11 motorway  |
Junction with A1 near Arad – Junction with DN7 | ? / 3 | Planned to reach Oradea. |
A12 motorway  |
Junction with A1 near Pitești – Slatina – Craiova | 121 / 0 | Mentioned in the 2014 Masterplan[6] |
Expressways
Planned expressways according to CNADNR (Romanian National Company of Motorways and National Roads):[6][9]
| Expressway | Route | Length (km) / in use (km) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE4 | Turda – Cluj-Napoca - Dej - Baia Mare - Satu Mare - Hungary | 216 / 20 | will connect A3 to Hungary |
| DE5 | Dej - Bistrița - Vatra Dornei - Suceava - Pașcani | 308 / 0 | |
| DE5B | Brașov – Ploiești | 106 / 48 | |
| DE8 | Constanţa – Tulcea – Brăila | 188 / 0 | will connect A4 and DE7 |
Gallery
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A1 motorway between Bucharest and Pitești
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A1 motorway as Pitești bypass
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A1 motorway as Sibiu bypass, opened in 2010
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A1 motorway near Timișoara
See also
References
- ↑ "Ce este un drum expres si cum se aseamana sau se deosebeste de o autostrada" (in Romanian). Hotnews.ro. 30 September 2014.
- ↑ http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/romania-opens-new-higways-after-years-of-delays
- ↑ "Rovinieta 2012 Taxa de Drum si Tarife Rovinieta 2012". Ghidtransport.ro. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ↑ http://www.zf.ro/eveniment/autostrada-spre-litoral-este-de-20-de-ani-in-constructie-dar-va-fi-finalizata-abia-in-2011-5275732/
- ↑ "Prezentarea generală a reţelei de drumuri". CNADNR. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
- 1 2 3 "Roads Masterplan 2014" (PDF). CNADNR. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ↑ "Primul lot al Autostrazii Lugoj - Deva, deschis circulatiei in plina noapte, cu o intarziere de noua luni". Hotnews. 23 December 2013.
- ↑ "Autostrada A8 Targu Neamt - Iasi: Autostrada care ar urma sa lege Iasul cu Targu Neamt". Hotnews.ro. 9 March 2015.
- ↑ "Construcţie drumuri expres". CNADNR. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
External links
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