Romania’s longest motorway: How the A1 was built and when it could finally be completed

More than half a century after the first section of Romania’s A1 motorway opened, the country’s longest road still faces difficult tests before it can connect Bucharest with the western border.

The planned motorway stretches about 578 kilometers from the capital to Nădlac on the Hungarian frontier. About 491 kilometers are complete, leaving roughly 87 kilometers to be built on the Sibiu-Pitești and Lugoj-Deva sections.

The next addition is expected in 2026. Section 4 between Tigveni and Curtea de Argeș, part of the mountainous Sibiu-Pitești motorway, is close to completion. The section covers about 10 kilometers and would bring the total length of completed A1 motorway to 500 kilometers. Work on its 9.86 kilometers is nearly 97% complete, according to Cristian Pistol, director general of Romania’s National Road Infrastructure Management Company.

The 1,350-meter Momaia tunnel is practically finished. Crews are installing mechanical, electrical and intelligent transport systems, completing operational buildings and testing fire-suppression equipment. If Austrian contractor PORR maintains its pace, traffic could open this year, ahead of the contractual deadline of February 2027. That would allow travel on about 54 of the 122 kilometers planned for the Sibiu-Pitești motorway.

Another major section, the approximately 14-kilometer Margina-Holdea route, is expected in the first part of 2027. It includes two tunnels with four galleries totaling nearly 4.6 kilometers. The larger tunnel has galleries measuring 1,825 and 1,985 meters, while the smaller one has galleries of 367.5 and 415 meters. The tunnels, viaducts and passages are being built on the border of Hunedoara and Timiș counties. Once Margina-Holdea opens, drivers should be able to travel continuously by motorway from Boița to Nădlac, a distance of more than 360 kilometers. In the most optimistic scenario, the full A1 route could be completed in 2028 or 2029.

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The physical progress of the works on the 9.86 km is approaching 97 percent. The Momaia tunnel, 1,350 m long, is practically finished, and mechanical, electrical and ITS installations are currently being fitted.