Paving the Way

By Amy Mason Doan
Photos by David Levenson/Black Star Photos

When Romania celebrated its induction into the European Union in January 2007, its president described EU membership as “the road of our future.” Romania’s economic hopes are also ingrained in an actual road now under construction—the Autostrada Transilvania.

Decades of Communist rule left the country with one of the least-developed highway systems in Europe. Today, cars crossing Romania travel over a bit of everything, from well-maintained but overburdened national and county routes to unpaved, winding roads between mountain villages.

A sleek new national highway will bring the country’s infrastructure in line with that of its new economic partners. The road will ease traffic jams, improve safety, and open up the country to new possibilities for tourism and trade, likely becoming the preferred route between the Black Sea and Western Europe.

Bechtel is helping to make the road map a reality. “It will be an economic engine for Romania’s development, not only in the construction phase but also for years into the future,” says Bechtel Project Manager Michael Mix. “A motorway is forever. It is a legacy.”

In June 2004, Bechtel and partner Enka broke ground on the $2.2 billion Autostrada Transilvania project, a central piece of Romania’s plans for a national highway system. They are designing and building a 258-mile (415-kilometer), four-lane highway along with 300 bridges, 73 overpasses, and 19 interchanges. When complete in 2013, the Autostrada Transilvania will connect Brasov in central Romania with Oradea on the country’s northwestern border with Hungary, linking five major cities.

Along the way, the road’s elevation will vary from 427 to 1,969 feet (130 to 600 meters) above sea level as it crosses vast plains with roaming buffalo herds, spiky Bran Castle (also known as Dracula’s Castle), ice caves, glaciers, and the foothills of the Carpathian mountains. A trip from Budapest to Brasov now takes as long as nine hours; when the motorway is open, it will take less than three.

Every road trip includes some trials along the way, and the Autostrada Transilvania has been no different. One year into the project, work was suspended while the joint venture renegotiated its contract with Romania’s National Company of Highways and National Roads. The project resumed in June 2006 with firm backing from officials, including the country’s newly appointed minister of transport. Since the restart, the team has made up for lost time, despite logistical and engineering complexity.

Work is spread over an 8,204-acre (3,320-hectare) area. Romania had only 142 miles (228 kilometers) of road classified as “motorway” when work began, so just reaching the road alignment can be difficult. By the time the project is complete, crews may have constructed 560 miles (900 kilometers) of access road.

The project is divided into eight segments, with interchanges on the ends of each so they can open one by one. In the second quarter of 2007, work has been focused on a segment in Cluj County, near the middle of the country, and another near the Hungarian border. About 25 miles (40 kilometers) of roadway are in the preparation stage, including clearing, topsoil removal and stockpiling, mass excavation, drilling, and environmental protection measures.

So far, 14 archaeological teams have retrieved artifacts during excavation. Digs around Cluj revealed a 6,500-year-old settlement with huts and 3,300-year-old colored pottery.

Bechtel and Enka have worked hard to reuse as much excavated material as possible. What started as a necessity for construction became an important part of the community affairs program when the team moved soil and planted trees to create a new outdoor recreation area for the rural community of Valisoara. “It’s a great example of the project’s sustainable practices, which leave long-term benefits in local communities,” says Mix.

After preparation and excavation, structural activities, including foundation work, pier and abutment elevation, and the installation of box culverts, can proceed. At a camp in Savadisla, a massive asphalt and crushed stone base plant is taking shape.
One of the most significant technical hurdles to date has been soil consistency. The uneven terrain and clay-like earth near Campia Turzii have been particularly daunting. To stabilize the soil, crews had to construct concrete pile foundations, driving them as deep as 79 feet (24 meters). In the first three months of 2007 alone, crews installed more than 500 piles.

Safety is a major concern at every phase of construction, and will continue to be a priority once passenger vehicles replace cement mixers. The team has partnered with local traffic authorities on road safety training, and every project driver has taken defensive driving classes. So far, more than 800 Romanian children have learned theoretical and practical lessons in road safety, and 1,000 herdsmen and shepherds have received reflective vests. Safety crews have even fitted out 100 horses with reflective collars.

It’s an example of how Bechtel and Enka have earned a reputation as a classy partnership with motorway expertise. The companies have teamed up for more than 20 years, most recently on a 124-mile (200-kilometer) motorway in Croatia. Autostrada Transilvania is Bechtel’s fourth motorway project with Enka.

As in Croatia, the partnership is hiring locally wherever possible. Currently, more than 3,000 Romanians—93 percent of the project team—are working on the autostrada. In 2010, at the peak of construction, the number of employees will exceed 8,000. Regularly scheduled local job fairs ensure that the vast majority of work will go to Romanians.

The first 33-mile (53-kilometer) segment of the motorway is scheduled for completion in February 2010, with other segments opening over the following three years. Analysts are talking about collateral investments equivalent to the motorway’s $2.2 billion cost by 2013, and the country is gearing up for an expected 30 percent increase in tourism.

For Romania, the road ahead looks bright.

Back to top