A2 motorway (Romania)

The A2 motorway, nicknamed The Sun Motorway (Autostrada Soarelui in Romanian) is a motorway near completion in Romania which will, upon completion, link Bucharest to Constanţa, a city-port at the Black Sea shore. As of September 30, 2011, 166 km of the motorway's total 204 km length are completed and fully operational on two separate segments: Bucharest to Cernavodă (152 km); and Murfatlar - Constanța West (Interchange with A4) segment (14 km).

History

The construction of the A2 motorway between Bucharest and Constanţa began in the communist era during Nicolae Ceauşescu's regime. The first section Feteşti - Cernavodă (about 18 km) opened in 1987. This section 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's roadways.

After the fall of the communism in 1989 the construction continued for a short period, but it was finally stopped in 1993 due to lack of financial resources. The construction continued after 1998 and the highway is to be completed by mid 2012.

Exit list

Openings timeline

• In October 1987, the 17,2 km segment Feteşti - Cernavodă was opened for traffic. The segment was closed for traffic again in September 2006 for complete rebuilding and reopened in 2007.
• On June 4, 2004 two segments opened for traffic: Bucharest - Fundulea (26,5 km) and Fundulea - Lehliu (29,2 km).
• In November 2004, the 42 km segment Lehliu - Drajna was opened for traffic.
• In June 2006 the 17,2 km segment Feteşti - Cernavodă was re-opened for traffic, after major rehabilitation works.
• Between July 1 and September 15, 2006, the 36,8 km segment Drajna - Feteşti temporarily opened for traffic on both ways but only on one lane.
• On May 1, 2007 the 36,8 km segment Drajna - Feteşti was re-opened for traffic.
• On July 29, 2011, the Murfatlar – Constanţa segment (21 km, including a segment of A4) was inaugurated (initially, on two of the total four lanes)^[1]
• On September 30, 2011 the Murfatlar – Constanţa was completed and opened on both carriageways^[2]
• The final two segments Cernavodă - Medgidia (19 km) and Medgidia - Murfatlar (11 km) to be completed in 2012, late 2011 respectively.
• The motorway will be prolonged to the Bulgarian border, as the European Union accepted to finance in 2011 the Constanţa - Vama Veche segment as A4.
• Next scheduled opening: Medgidia - Murfatlar (11 km) - end of 2011.

The total distance between Bucharest and Constanţa on the A2 highway will be about 204 km.

See also

• Roads in Romania
• Transport in Romania
• Cernavodă Bridge

References

External links

• Motorways in Romania 2007-2013 (pdf file)
• A2 on Google maps