First section of Romania’s Sibiu-Pitești highway opened to traffic ahead of schedule

The first section of the A1 Sibiu-Pitesti highway, about 13 km long, was opened to road traffic almost four months before the contractual deadline for completion. The section is the only highway to be opened in 2022.

The construction of the highway was carried out by the Austrian company Porr Construct for approximately RON 613 mln (EUR 124.6 mln).

The section includes 27 bridges and passageways, as well as two overpasses. Work began in April 2020 and had a 36-month execution deadline, placing reception in April 2023. Construction progressed well enough, however, for the section to be put into use four months earlier than expected, according to Hotnews.ro.

Porr Construct is also the contracted builder of the almost 10 km-long section 4 of the same highway. The landscape there is much more difficult to traverse. The project also includes a 1.35 km tunnel. Construction is set to begin in the spring and has a 44-month execution period.

The Sibiu-Pitesti highway will be 122 km in length in total. Divided into 5 sections, the highway will connect Central and Western Romania with the European highway network, being an important part of the Pan-European Corridor 4. Construction is ongoing only on sections 1 and 5 of the highway. The rest were only recently contracted to different builders.

(Photo source: Facebook/Sorin Grindeanu)