Bucharest welcomes new, enlarged boulevard, but bemoans loss of old buildings along the way

A new EUR 50 million four-lane boulevard in Bucharest – which saw several historic buildings demolished for its construction – has been finished. The Buzesti - Berzei – Uranus boulevard segment, between Victoriei Square and Vasile Parvan, has two lanes each way, a tram track and a short bike path. The boulevard, which is a part of a bigger infrastructure project, will be opened for traffic in the coming days, three years after work started on site. During this time, in order to enlarge the existing boulevard, several buildings along the road were demolished, including the historicMatache Hall(in picture), a former historic peasant market. The place where the market used to stand until March 2013 now lays empty. The remains of other old buildings, which were torn down to make room for the expanded road, can still be seen here and there. NGOs have fought a losing battle with the authorities to prevent these demolitions, which they called illegal. In total, 90 houses were demolished, and 1,000 people were expropriated. So far, the only thing missing are parking places, and many of the people who live in the area have already parked their cars on the tram track and in the first lane, at least until the boulevard is officially opened – which should happen on Friday, December 20, according to Romanian media. The new boulevard is the first part of a project divided into three segments. The second segment will connect Vasile Parvan and the Cosbuc market, and will include an underground pass underneath the People's Palace. It is uncertain when work will start on this ambitious project, which needs money from the local budget to become reality. The third segment would connect the Cosbuc market to the Progresul railway station. editor@romania-insider.com