The second phase of the construction of Romania’s A10 motorway, linking the cities of Sebeș in Alba County and Turda in Cluj County, is underway with support from EU funding. The motorway, which is 70 km long and will be toll free, is located in the North-West and Centre development regions of the country’s Macroregion one.
Romania’s A10 motorway to connect the cities of Sebeș and Turda
- 09 November 2020
The A10 is a dual carriageway, with two lanes either side of a central reservation. At present, there are no plans to widen it to three lanes in the future. It is designed for a travelling speed of 120 km/h.
In addition to the road itself, the project entails the construction of seven grade-separated interchanges, with roads crossing each other at different levels, and 66 structures, including four viaducts, four service areas – of which two are on each carriageway – and two road maintenance and control centres.
Linking international transport routes
The A10 will form part of the core Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and provide a link between two existing motorways: the segment of the A1 between Orăștie and Sibiu to the south, and that of the A3 between Câmpia Turzii and Gilău to the north. It will pass by Alba Iulia, the seat of Alba County, as well as the town of Teiuș and the city of Aiud.
With a planned length of 578 km, the A1 will connect Romania’s capital, Bucharest with the Hungarian border and Hungary’s M43 motorway near the town of Nădlac. Along with Bucharest and Sibiu, it serves the major cities of Pitești, Deva, Timișoara and Arad, and is part of the TEN-T Rhine-Danube Corridor.
When the A3 is completed, it will be 603 km long and also link Bucharest with the west of the country and Hungary, connecting with Hungary's M4 motorway near the commune of Borș. The cities of Ploiești, Brașov, Făgăraș, Sighișoara, Târgu Mureș, Cluj-Napoca, Zalău and Oradea are situated along the route.
Two phases, four segments
The second phase of the project has a budget of over EUR 437 million, of which around EUR 272.5 million is provided through the EU’s European Regional Development Fund. It represents a continuation of the work implemented in the first phase, which was financed through the Cohesion Fund.
Design and construction of the motorway is divided into four segments: the 17 km from the junction with the A1 at Sebeș to Paraul Iovului, the 24.3 km from Paraul Iovului to Aiud, the 12.5 km from Aiud to the junction near the village of Decea, and the 16.3 km from the Decea junction to the junction with the A3 near Turda. A different consortium is responsible for each one.
The A10 will help improve connections between the A1 and the A3 in terms of journey times and safety for passenger and freight transport, and increase Romania’s capacity to handle transit traffic. By taking traffic away from the existing two-lane national road DN1, which passes through the centres of small towns, the road will reduce congestion, thereby benefiting the environment and improving quality of life.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Construction of Sebes – Turda motorway – phase II, 2014-2020” is EUR 437 275 058, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 272 520 756 through the “Large Infrastructure” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period.