The segment of the Sibiu-Orastie highway in Romania that was closed one year after its opening due to the large cracks formed in the road, was reopened for traffic on Monday, October 10. A 500-meter portion of this highway segment was completely demolished and rebuilt due to structural problems.

Romania’s Highways Company CNADNR announced in a press release that the Technical Inspection Commission and representatives of the Traffic Police checked the highway section on Sunday, October 9. After analyzing the work’s quality, “the Commission found that the conditions for opening the traffic safely have been met.”

The highway section was inaugurated in November 2014, just before the Presidential elections, and was closed in September 2015 due to structural problems. The first cracks in the highway appeared only two weeks after it was inaugurated. At first, CNADNR tried to fix the cracks and had the traffic restricted, but the rift only got wider.

A report made by the Control Body within the Transport Ministry, showed in February this year that the road had cracks even before the inauguration.

The 22-kilometer highway section, which also includes the highest viaduct in Romania, was built by Italian company Salini-Impregilo. The value of the contract was about EUR 134 million. Romania's Transport Ministry cancelled the contract with the Italian company, which refused to cover the costs of the repairs and said it would try to recover the money by executing the guarantees.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Cnadnr.ro)