From: Bucharest | Length 206 km | |
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To: Constanța (Junction with A4) Major cities Bucharest, Constanța, Cernavodă, Fetești, Murfatlar, Medgidia Counties Ilfov County, Călărași County, Ialomița County, Constanța County | ||
The A2 motorway (Romanian: Autostrada A2), also known as The Sun Motorway (Romanian: Autostrada Soarelui), is a motorway in Romania which links Bucharest with Constanța, a city-port on the shore of the Black Sea, where it merges after an interchange into the A4 motorway. It is 206 km long, and has been operational on its entire length since November 2012.
Contents
Map of Autostrada Soarelui, Romania
History
The construction of the motorway between Bucharest and Constanța began in the communist era during Nicolae Ceaușescu's regime. The first section, from Fetești to Cernavodă (about 18 km), was opened in 1987 and underwent a major rehabilitation in 2003. It crosses the Balta Ialomiței island and includes the Cernavodă Bridge complex system of motorway and railway bridges and viaducts over the Danube and one of its branches at Cernavodă. The motorway bridge passes under the historical railway bridge built by Anghel Saligny in 1896, while the new railway in use today separates the motorway roadways.
After the fall of the communism in 1989, construction continued for a short period, but it was finally stopped in 1993 due to lack of financial resources. Construction continued after 1998, the motorway being completed in late 2012.
The sector from Bucharest to Fetești crosses the Bărăgan Plain and was built between 2001 and 2007. It was split into four sections. The first section from Bucharest to Fundulea (26.5 km) was built by the Romanian company Romis and is surfaced with concrete slabs. The second section from Fundulea to Lehliu (29.2 km) was built by a Turkish joint venture between Yuksel, Makimsar and Ener, while the third section from Lehliu to Drajna (41.6 km) was built by the French company Colas. The three sections were completed in 2004. The fourth, from Drajna to Fetești (36.8 km), was built by a joint venture between Astaldi, Max Bögl and CCCF, and was completed in 2007, receiving financial support from the ISPA funds.
The sector from Cernavodă to Constanța (51.3 km) runs across the Dobrogea Plateau and was built between 2009 and 2012, receiving financial resources from the European Union's Cohesion Fund and from the European Investment Bank. It was built by a joint venture between Astaldi and Max Bögl, and was completed in late 2012. The section from Cernavodă to Medgidia was initially awarded to the French company Colas, but the contract was terminated in April 2011, because of delays in the construction process. It was subsequently awarded to the new constructor in September 2011.
The total distance between Bucharest and Constanța on the motorway is approximately 206 km. It includes a 3.8 km link segment at the eastern end, that was part of the construction contract for the A4 motorway, which serves as the Constanța bypass. It has seven exits and ten rest areas on each carriageway, five being served by filling stations. There is one toll gate along the route, at Fetești (km 144), where a tax is charged for crossing the Danube bridges.
During summer, heavy traffic (maximum permissible weight over 7.5 t) is forbidden to drive on the motorway on weekends (including Friday) at daylight hours (from 6 A.M. to 12 A.M.).
It is planned that the motorway will be prolonged to the Bulgarian border, after the European Union accepted in November 2010 to include the segment from Constanța to Vama Veche into the planned Trans-European Network.