A section of the capital’s Northern Ring Road A0 will be opened in 2023, as the Romanians from UMB, who are building Lot 2, have broken new records for the speed of completion. However, while the highway may be ready well ahead of the contract deadline, a third of the section may become a “museum” because the authorities have no solution on how to relieve traffic at one end.

“10 kilometers ready and 6 of a museum?” asks the Pro Infrastructure Association, which has droned the entire section 2 of the A0 north highway between Afumachi (near the DN2) and Corbeanque (outside the DN1).

“The developer, UMB, is very well mobilized, including Saturdays, and has the best chance to open traffic in the fall: October, according to our estimate,” the association said.

“But of the total 19 kilometers, only ten, between the DN1 and the A3 highway, can be opened with confidence. The approximately 6 km between the A3 motorway and the border with site 3 can only be used by drivers if CNAIR officials decide to approve and resolve the procedures for the temporary unloading in the DJ100 west of Afumac,” Pro Infrastructura said.

Pressure for a solution to relieve traffic on the site built by UMB

• “We are asking the CNAIR officials to decide whether they want to carry out the temporary reset in Afumak. In our opinion, this is justified at this point, given that the ink is barely dry on the Lot 3 contract signed with the Chinese from CCECC on 03/16/2023, which contains the A0-DN2 node.

• If the National Road Infrastructure Management Company insists on not deciding on a temporary connection, we ask them to quickly take all bureaucratic and contractual measures to allow the A0-DN2 junction with priority so that it can travel on the A0 as soon as possible on the DN2 route -A3, the traffic in this area is hellish,” notes Pro Infrastructura.

Autostrada A0 Nord, Lot 2: 96 days of actual work, 52% physical lead

During a site visit in early April, Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said that Lot 2 A0 Nord would open in August and that the Romanian company responsible for the construction had completed the work in record time.

• “So he went to the construction site and on August 16 they gave the order to start. Days actually worked here – excluding holidays or when the weather doesn’t allow you – somewhere around 96-97 days actually worked at this site. We are at the level of 51-52%. This means extremely good progress,” said Grindianu, who visited the construction site.

• “The completion date will be sometime in the summer of next year, but after all the discussions we’ve had with CNAIR and the builder, probably this summer, in August, this lot of about 19 km will be put into circulation and which in the sea connects DN1 and DN2,” Grindeanu said.

Grindeanu talks about the decision to connect A0 Nord Lot 2 directly to DN2

According to him, the authorities are looking for a solution to offload traffic from the A0 directly to the DN2, given that the related section, which includes the interchange between the A0 and the DN2, has just been contracted to a Chinese company and is yet to be completed. undergo a 12-month design period.

• “We are going to discuss at the CNAIR level the loading for DN2. Unloading is planned in the Ștefănești area. I would like us to make this offload directly connected to DN1 and DN2 so that this piece of trunk can be used for maximum capacity,” Grindeanu said.