A major rehabilitation project is underway on Romania’s DN14 National Road between the Transylvanian towns of Sibiu and Sighisoara. It is part of a move by the Eastern European country to modernise its national transport infrastructure.
- 13 April 2016
The project covers 79.3 kilometres of the national road and is set to reduce travel times between Sibiu and Sighisoara by approximately 8 minutes. One of the key goals is to reduce the accident rate by 10 %.
Motorists in the neighbouring Sibiu and Mures counties (about 978 000 inhabitants) and public services in the area are the main beneficiaries.
During the implementation of the project, it is estimated that around 250 jobs will be created.
Connecting Romania’s cultural heritage
International visitors are also set to gain by making travel between the two cultural centres quicker and safer.
In 2007, Sibiu was designated European Capital of Culture and Sighisoara is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also famous as the birthplace of Vlad Dracula, the inspiration behind Bram Stoker’s fictional creation, Count Dracula.
Three main national roads (the DN1, DN7 and DN14) currently intersect at Sibiu and an airport connects the city internationally with direct flights to Germany, Austria, the U.K. and Spain.
A sustainable national transport infrastructure
Among the technical considerations for the project are a widening of the existing road platform and a strengthening of the pavement in line with the required 11.5t/axle design load to accommodate for heavy goods vehicles for a 25 year lifespan. The width of the road platform will be variable (between 7 and 10 metres), while the running lane will be of 2 x 3.50 m along the whole section. It will include a total of 21 bridges, 175 culverts and various road and rail intersections.
All of the considerations are in accordance with the national standard STAS 863/85 and will contribute to Romania’s sustainable national transport system.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Rehabilitation of National Road DN14 Sibiu-Medias-Sighisoara“ is EUR 47 958 537 million with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 40 764 757 million. Romania’s National Company for Motorways and National Roads (CNADNR) will be in charge of overseeing the project, which is part of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T programme).