Fate of the Târgu Mureş - Braşov highway, to be decided in one month

American company Bechtel, which is building the Transilvania Highway, will provide an answer in relation to the announcement made by the Romanian authorities that they lack the funding needed for the Târgu Mureş - Braşov section of the highway. The options available are either to concession the construction to Bechtel or holding an auction. Bogdan Sgârcitu, spokesperson of "Bechtel" in Romania, said, quoted by Agerpres: "We will have an answer by the end of September - beginning of October, concerning this highway section. We had talks with the Minister of Transports on what both sides should do, in order to have the 42 km section between Turda and Gilău open for traffic by December 1st".

He said that apart from the Câmpia Turzii - Gilău (Cluj) segment, discussions also concerned the Suplacu de Barcău - Borş segment: " Funding has been secured for the Suplacu de Barcău - Borş section, which would allow the continuation of the works for the viaducts and the infrastructure. Discussions also touched upon the schedule for the coming years, especially since the new budget will be done for the next three years which will allow a more precise scheduling".

Bechtel yesterday announced that 14 viaducts and bridges were completed. Hydroinsulation works have been completed and the asphalting is in its final stages, according to the press release.

The viaducts required 544 U-beams and 240 T-Beams. The 2B section will feature 45 structures, including 16 viaducts, 14 bridges, 8 passages and 7 portals. The structures will be almost 7 km long. The longest viaduct of the 2B segment (Câmpia Turzii - Gilău) of the Transilvania Highway is located at km 13+222, over the river Arieş, is over 960 m long and 23 m high (the equivalent of an 8 story building).