Romania opens first mountain construction site for Unity Highway A8

Romania has initiated construction on the first mountain segment of the "Unity Highway" (A8), a crucial infrastructure project linking the Moldova region with Transylvania and Western Europe. The Joseni-Ditrău section, spanning 14.4 kilometers, is the first highway construction ever undertaken in Harghita County.

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We are starting the first construction site on the A8 mountain section! Today we took another important step for the Unity Highway A8. At the new road company CNIR, the project for the construction permit (PAC) for the Joseni - Ditrău lot was approved, ahead of the deadline stipulated in the contract. It remains for the documentation to reach the Ministry of Transport, where we will issue the construction permit as soon as possible, so that we can effectively start the works on the first lot of the mountain section of the Unity Highway.

State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Horațiu Cosma, announced that the technical project for the construction permit was approved ahead of schedule. "We are starting the first construction site on the A8 mountain section!" Cosma stated, emphasizing the swift approval process. The construction permit is expected to be issued by the Ministry of Transport shortly, allowing work to commence.

The contractor is prepared for immediate mobilization, with over 150 workers, operational concrete and asphalt plants, and 140 pieces of equipment ready. A new beam production base is also in place, capable of producing three 40-meter beams daily. The project includes 18 bridges, three ecoducts for wildlife, and a junction at Joseni, with a provisional exit at Ditrău.

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In the field, the contractor is ready at the block start with over 150 workers in the first stage, the site organization is finalized, the two concrete plants and the asphalt plant are operational, the site roads are prepared, the 140 machines are aligned, and the new beam production base is in position, it will produce three beams 40 meters long daily.

The entire mountain section of the A8 highway is estimated to cost 4 billion euros and will cover over 110 kilometers through challenging terrain. The Joseni-Ditrău lot is contracted to a Romanian-Bulgarian construction consortium, which has two years to complete the work.

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This is an extremely important milestone, as we are talking about the first construction site to open on the mountain section of the A8 and, at the same time, about the first highway lot ever built in Harghita County.