The Brașov-Făgăraș highway passed an important bureaucratic hurdle on Sunday, June 7, after the Brașov County Environmental Directorate issued the draft Environmental Agreement for the project worth RON 7.74 billion (EUR 1.47 billion). The approval established strict protection conditions for the sensitive areas crossed by the route.
The highway is designed to pass five localities: the municipality of Codlea and the communes of Dumbrăvița, Șinca, Șercaia, and Mândra. With a design speed of 120 km/h, the highway will connect Cristian (A3) with the future Sibiu–Făgăraș motorway, which is currently under construction.
According to the document issued by the Environmental Directorate, “the demolition of houses and annexes is not necessary, only of utilities that must be relocated. The route has been designed to avoid the direct impact on existing buildings,” according to local news outlet Turnul Sfatului.
However, the land footprint is massive, at around 561 hectares. The targeted land includes arable land (334 ha), grasslands (137 ha), and forest areas (44 ha).
The motorway crosses areas of “critical ecological importance,” such as the Natura 2000 site ROSAC0352 Perșani, where a major corridor for brown bears, wolves, and lynxes has been identified. To avoid habitat fragmentation, the project includes a 300m cut-and-cover tunnel serving as an ecoduct.
The difficult terrain requires the design of impressive engineering structures. A total of 16 viaducts and 18 bridges will be built. Moreover, to protect watercourses (Șercaia, Veneția, Hârtibaciu), the highway will reportedly be equipped with an ultra-dense treatment system made up of “415 sedimentation basins and 415 oil and grease separators.”
The highway is set to start in the northern area of the municipality of Brașov, near the road junction that will ensure the connection with Highway A3 (the Râșnov-Cristian section). From here, the route proceeds northwest, crossing the Brașov metropolitan area and quickly leaving the urban zone, following alignments optimized for motorway speeds of 120 km/h.
Roughly 4.7 million cubic meters of concrete, 627,000 tons of asphalt mixtures, and 1.6 million tons of cement will go into the Brașov-Făgăraș highway, according to the publication.
The construction phase, estimated at 36 months, will be subject to strict requirements. “Construction site activities will be carried out exclusively between 7 AM and 10 PM,” according to the documents, and the speed of construction machinery will be limited to 30 km/h. Similarly, works involving soil handling will be prohibited during periods with strong winds.
(Photo source: Compania Nationala de Administrare a Infrastructurii Rutiere on Facebook)
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