ZF has committed to call to account the highways under construction and to follow the progression of works closely. So, once again, we attempted last week to travel the length of the Bucharest-Ploiesti highway two weeks before the final deadline. But we did not manage to go from one end to another, with works on several sections being far from completed.
Despite the fact that we last reported on the state of A3 in late November, a few days before the deadline was once again postponed, there is not much difference between the stage of works then and now, with the only “improvements” being in terms of the stage of works started on the road that connects the highway to Bucharest’s ring road and to Ploiesti’s ring road.
“God” is the watchword
“Will the highway be ready by May 15? Only God knows and can help us,” was the short answer from an engineer close to a bridge far from completion. Alexandru Nazare, minister of transport in the Ungureanu government, said a few weeks ago that the around 115 km-long highway that links Pitesti and Sibiu will be completed in three years’ time. And this while a highway that is just over 60 km-long takes more than five years to complete.
Then and now, six months later, one can say there continue to be major differences between the stage of works on the four sections. For instance, the portion built by UMB Spedition has been finalized since last autumn, with the exception of anti-glare panels, which have not yet been set up for the entire length of the section, while on the segment built by Euroconstruct, foundation works are still conducted on several portions of the road.
Considering that A3 was supposed to be inaugurated in December of last year, just as then, it takes a 4×4 truck to go its length, in this case a Mitsubishi L200, considering that the connections between the four sections have not been completed.
Work in two shifts
An engineer from Euroconstruct says the number of workers on the construction site has been supplemented and people are working in two shifts in order for the section to be ready on time. “God only knows if it will be ready, the weather has to be good, as well,” said the engineer, who was present on the construction site.
Funnily enough, on the section handled by Euroconstruct there are already mileage panels and road signs installed, but there is no asphalt poured. On the section of Pa&Co there is asphalt, but no road signs.
In order to make the transition from the Euroconstruct section to the Pa&Co one, you need to make a detour because the bridge is not ready.
Just as in November, UMB Spedition’s section is ready. The anti-glare panels are lacking along its entire length, but the latest talks with company officials have revealed that it is for safety reasons that they have not been set up, with this section having already been targeted by scrap iron thieves.
How much the highway costs
The first 19.5 km of this highway are being built by Italy’s Pizzarotti and Tirrena Scavi and cost around EUR160 million, while the next 42.5 km are in the hands of Romanian firm Spedition UMB (controlled by Dorinel Umbrarescu), Euro Construct Trading 98 (Dan Besciu and Sorin Vulpescu) and PA&CO International (Costel Casuneanu), costing EUR296 million. The cost per km on the Moara Vlasiei-Ploiesti section is EUR7 million, while the Bucharest-Moara Vlasiei section costs around EUR8.2 million per km.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)