East–West Motorway (Romania)

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A8 motorway
The Union Motorway
Autostrada Unirii
Route information
Maintained by Compania Națională de Autostrăzi și Drumuri Naționale din România
Length0 km (0 mi; 0 ft)
304.37 km (189.13 mi) planned
51.9 km (32.2 mi) under construction
42.7 km (26.5 mi) tendered
93.27 km (57.96 mi) under design
Major junctions
East end R 1 at Ungheni (border with Moldova)[1]
Major intersections
West end A 3 near Târgu Mureș
Location
CountryRomania
Highway system
← A 7→ A 9

The A8 motorway (Romanian: Autostrada A8), also known as The Union Motorway (Romanian: Autostrada Unirii[2]) or the East-West Motorway (Romanian: Autostrada Est-Vest[3]) is a planned motorway in Romania, that will cross the Eastern Carpathians to connect the historical regions of Moldavia and Transylvania. It will directly link the cities of Iași and Târgu Mureș. The A8 motorway route is an integral part of the Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) Core Network.

As of May 2024, two sections are under design and construction, two are tendered, while other sections of the motorway are in various stages of planning.

History

Early plans estimated the first opening as early as 2009.[4] With a total length of around 304 kilometres (189 mi),[5] and an estimated cost of 4.07 billion €, the motorway will begin from the junction with the A3 motorway near Târgu Mureș, and will run through Sovata, Ditrău, Târgu Neamț, Pașcani, Târgu Frumos and Iași.[6] At its eastern end, the motorway will cross the Prut river at Ungheni to reach Moldova's R1 highway, which further heads east towards Chișinău.[1]

The A8 motorway is divided into five segments: Târgu Mureș – Ditrău segment of 92.1 kilometres (57.2 mi), Ditrău – junction with DN2 segment of 118.8 kilometres (73.8 mi), DN2 – Iași segment of 61.3 kilometres (38.1 mi), Iași Nord bypass segment of 17 kilometres (11 mi), and Iași – Ungheni border segment (TBD).[7][8]

Pre-feasibility studies performed in 2007 were followed by feasibility studies in 2009–2011. As of February 2015, the feasibility study revision and update is being conducted by private contractors.[3] The auction for the execution of the Târgu Mureș - Târgu Neamț segment were expected to be launched in 2021.[9]

Sections

The tenders for two sections (Section 1 - 22 kilometres (14 mi): Târgu Mureș - Miercurea Nirajului, and Section 3 - 29.91 kilometres (18.59 mi): Leghin – Târgu Neamț) were set to be submitted by 27 February 2023 and 28 February 2023 respectively. On 20 September 2023, the contract for the design and execution of the Leghin – Târgu Neamț section (between Vânători-Neamț and Boureni (junction with DN2)) was signed with the SA&PE Construct-Spedition UMB-Tehnostrade association.[10] In February 2024, the contract for the design and execution of the Târgu Mureș - Miercurea Nirajului section was signed with Nurol.[11] The duration of the contracts are 30 months long, 6 months for planning and 24 months for the execution.[12]

The tender for the design and execution of section 1b Miercurea Nirajului - Sărățeni (23.4 kilometres (14.5 mi)) was to be submitted by 22 May 2024, and by 25 June 2024 for the Pipirig – Leghin section (19.3 kilometres (12.0 mi)).[13][14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Acord între Guvernul României şi cel al Moldovei pentru un pod rutier peste Prut, la Ungheni". ziaruldeiasi.ro. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  2. ^ Ovidiu Bărbulescu (31 October 2018). "Utopia continuă în Parlament: Guvernul este obligat prin lege să construiască Autostrada Unirii, de peste 300 kilometri, în 4 ani, plus un pod nou peste Prut". Profit.ro. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Autostrada A8 Targu Mures - Iasi: Autostrada care ar urma sa lege Moldova cu Vestul". Hotnews.ro. 9 March 2015.
  4. ^ Archived copy Archived 30 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "East–West Motorway plan". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  6. ^ Documente Master Plan General de Transport (in Romanian)
  7. ^ "Primii pași pentru autostrada A8 Tg. Mureș - Tg. Neamț. Consilier al premierului: "S-au făcut peste 70 de foraje în zona Mureș"". monitorizari.hotnews.ro. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Autostrada Unirii A8 Tg. Mureș - Iași - Ungheni: Ce termene își asumă Transporturile pentru fiecare tronson". monitorizari.hotnews.ro. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Autostrada Unirii: Se lucrează la documentația tehnică. De la 1 ianuarie, 2021, demarează licitația pentru atribuirea lucrărilor pe tronsonul Târgu Mureș - Târgu Neamț". 9 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Primul contract semnat pe Autostrada „Unirii" A8: Românii de la UMB vor construi primii kilometri din autostrada care va uni Moldova de Transilvania" [The first contract signed on the A8 "Unirii" Highway: the Romanians from UMB will build the first kilometers of the highway that will connect Moldavia with Transylvania]. hotnews.ro. 19 September 2023.
  11. ^ Anemona Andone (16 February 2024). "Autostrada Unirii A8: A fost semnat contractul pentru secțiunea I Tg Mureș – Miercurea Nirajului". economica.net.
  12. ^ "Autostrada "Unirii" A8 care trece munții spre Moldova: Primele tronsoane, scoase la licitație / Cursa contracronometru să prindă banii din PNRR". hotnews.ro (in Romanian). 21 December 2022.
  13. ^ Mădălina Podaru (4 April 2024). "Licitația pentru primul lot al secțiunii de munte a fost publicată în SEAP" [The tender for the first lot of the mountain section was published in SEAP]. economedia.ro.
  14. ^ Victor Cozmei (9 May 2024). "Autostrada „Unirii" A8: Un nou lot din Moldova, scos la licitație" [Union Motorway A8: A new lot from Moldova, put up for tender]. monitorizari.hotnews.ro.


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