European route E79

Route overview

The road follows the route:

Hungary

The Hungarian section of E79 shares parts of its path with other E-roads, such as E60, E573 and E71.

Romania

The Romanian section of the road is mostly under construction, as can be seen on the map with Romanian road quality. Although only in the region of 500 km (310 mi) the road itself is single carriageway except in major towns. With little or no room for overtaking, a 50 km/h (31 mph) restriction when passing through the many minor villages, and a great number of slow vehicles, the average speed is generally in the low 50 km/h range.

Since 2012, work has begun to improve the quality of this road:

Contracts were signed in late 2012 to improve this section. Status of work progress is December 2016, according to this source.

- Șoimuș-Brad (cca. 30 km): SELINA (105 mil. RON without VAT, contract 5R10a, progress status in December 2016 - 70%).

- Brad-Ionești (cca. 20 km): PORR (cca. 65 mil. RON without VAT, contract 5R10b, 98% finished in December 2016).

- Ionești-Vârfurile (cca. 14 km): The national company will redo this part with its own workers in 2017. Original contractor was VIALES Y OBRAS PUBLICAS (cca. 43 mil RON without VAT, contract 5R11, progress in 2015: 29.76%). Contract cancelled in September 2015,

- Vârfurile-Ștei (cca. 33 km): SC Antreprenor Construct Mod SRL (progress status: 70% in December 2016).

- Ștei-Beiuș (cca. 28 km): AZVI/AZCALE (cca. 100 mil. RON without VAT, contract 5R13, progress in December 2016: 51%).

- Beiuș-Oradea (cca. 60 km): The national company has refurbished the asphalt (done, asphalt is decent but not new). Initial constructor was the joint venture CCCF Drumuri și Poduri Timișoara–CO.GE.FA S.p.A.–Simco SRL, but the contract was cancelled (the constructor had financial problems; contract value: 36.6 million euro (contract 5R10a).

Initial financing sources for all contracts was: 50% from the state budget, 50% loaned from the European Investment Bank. On 4 December 2013, the Romanian Ministry for European Funds included this project on the list of infrastructure projects financed by the EU. The Ministry sent to the European Commission a request to evaluate the financing of this sector, for a total of 210 million Euro (of which 142 million Euro from the EU through the ERDF mechanism).

Works on this section began as of August 2012. The rehabilitation of this section of the road was expected to be finished by the end of 2014. In December 2016, about 40% of the section is in good conditions (some new asphalt, some refurbished), 50% are mostly in an advanced process of rehabilitation (some is already at first asphalt; these 50% will very likely be finished in 2017), 10% of this section is still in bad condition (will be redone by the national company). Works on the road are generally expected to continue until late 2017, with small portions possible to remain for 2018.

Bulgaria

The Bulgarian section of E79 spans nearly 400 km (250 mi) from the North Bulgarian city of Vidin, connecting the Calafat–Vidin Bridge (or, alternatively, the Vidin-Calafat ferry line) across the Danube River and straight southwards towards Bulgaria's capital Sofia. The road has moderately good surface, it is constantly maintained and repaired and well signed with directing signs in Bulgarian and in English. Most of the length from Vidin to Botevgrad, the road is two-lane tarmac road following the natural relief of the landscape. There are sections where 3 lanes for overtaking slow-moving traffic are available. Rest stops and parking spots near the road are also available. The Bulgarian Traffic law prescribes a 50 km/h (31 mph) in most residential areas coinciding with the route of the road and not more than 90 km/h (56 mph) on the section of the road outside living areas. There are plans to upgrade Vidin-Botevgrad road to a grade separated expressway (close to motorway standard), allowing speeds up to 140 km/h (87 mph).

From Botevgrad to Sofia, E79 joins Hemus motorway, designated A2. At the Bulgarian capital Sofia you have to enter the Ring Road, until Sofia Northern Bypass motorway is built. Signage is available. From Sofia to south there are 52 km (32 mi) of motorways (A6 Lyulin motorway and A3 Struma motorway) to Dupnitsa-north interchange. The Bulgarian Traffic law allows speeds up to 140 km/h (87 mph) on motorways unless otherwise stated. The road is leading from Dolna Dikanya to south, right to the Kulata-Promachonas. All the way to the Border Check point the road is of the standard 2-lane tarmac except for the section from the Pernik Province-Blagoevgrad Province border and the southern entrance to the city of Blagoevgrad where the road is of highway type and is 8 km (5.0 mi) long. The section between Dupnitsa and Blagoevgrad, 37 km long, has been upgraded to a motorway standard and opened to traffic 2015. Also the last of these sections - lot 4 from Sandanski-south to the Greek border of 13 km opened to traffic in August 2015. The stretch between Blagoevgrad and Sandanski - lot 3 - passes through the Kresna Gorge and is planned to feature a 13.3 km (8.3 mi) tunnel, which will be the longest motorway tunnel in Eastern Europe, whose construction will begin in 2015 and will cost app. EUR 650 mln.

There are no restriction to trucks driving in the weekends (except when temps rise above 38 °C (100 °F)) so they pose additional road hazard particularly high when driving at night. Traffic is usually heavy in weekends and overtaking has to be done swiftly and without risk, minding the other participants in the traffic.

At night, motorcyclists are required (and that is strongly advisable for their own safety) to use high-visibility vests.

Greece

The Greek Section of E79 has a length of about 120 km (75 mi). After crossing the Bulgarian-Greek border entering into Greece, the road drastically improves as it has been upgraded to a motorway; and speeds of up to 120 km/h (75 mph) are common. After the Promachonas Border Checkpoint, there is a section in construction, about 20–30 km. After that the new 3 lane motorway is well managed, repaired and policed up to the city of Loutra Serron. Construction and upgrading works are still continuing near Serres (due to state budget cuts, works are not scheduled to complete before 2015). After Serres the 3 lane motorway continues for a further 60 km (37 mi) and finally ends at a large junction with the A2/E90, which then provides direct access with Thessaloniki's Ring Road motorway and onto Chalkidiki, for travellers heading south.