European route E68

Template: Infobox trunk road / Maintenance / EU -E

States:

• Hungary
• Romania

The European Route 68 (abbreviated: E 68 ), in Romania as Drum Naţional 7 ( DN7 ), is a part of the international road network. The eastward extending from the west - 499 km long - Europe road leads from Szeged in Hungary to Brasov in Romania.

In Romania, the road from Arad leads to Vintu de Jos approximately 150 kilometers along the river Mures ( Mures ), then to the south of the Transylvanian basin partially along the Olt (Alt ).

The road passes through the following places: Szeged - Mako - Nagylak - Nădlac - Arad - Deva - Orăştie - Sebes - Sibiu - Fagaras - Brasov

Importance

The European Route 68 is one of the most befahrendsten Übelandstraßen in Romania. Since the beginning of the Yugoslav wars in the early 1990s, the transit routes were blocked by Serbia and the entire transit from Turkey to Central and Northern Europe shifted to the European Route 68 This was not planned a volume of traffic for as and especially the distance between Sibiu where the coming out of the south European Route 81 opens, and Szeged developed into a traffic hell. From the time of communism, there were no bypasses and the road went straight through the partially drawn- road villages. In the villages, this is also the village main street was, which is why agricultural vehicles and horse-drawn carriages had to use these traffic area. Numerous partly serious accidents were the result. Extreme accident black spots were the village Apoldu de Sus / Großpold, the city of Sebes / Mühlbach, the narrow Ortsdurchfahrten in Mures, as well as the distance between Arad and Nădlac. At the border crossing Nagylak - Nădlac it came regularly to kilometers of traffic jams. In Hungary, especially the places Nagylak, Apátfalva, and Mako and Kiszombor were affected by the traffic avalanche. In the first years after the end of communism, all traffic went through the cities of Sibiu, Orastie, Deva and Arad, as well as in Hungary through the city center of Szeged.

A first discharge was in the late 1990s by the construction of a bypass (Romanian Centura ) was created around the city of Arad, while the major overland routes were developed partly to four lanes. After the end of the Yugoslav wars, the transit traffic from Turkey shifted only very timidly back to the Autoput through Serbia. Meanwhile, the traffic was so greatly increased in Romania, that there was no relief of the traffic situation. With the EU accession of Hungary in 2004, even aggravated the waiting times at the border, as they are now constituted an EU external border. A noticeable relief for the affected areas only occurred with the gradual construction of a highway, both in Hungary and in Romania, a. In Hungary, was built with the M43 Autópálya a bypass around the city of Szeged. Meanwhile, this highway extends to behind Mako, causing the heavy traffic until there comes back to the European Route 68.

The EU accession of Romania in 2007 reduced the congestion at the border Nagylak - Nădlac. But Romania is not yet a member of the Schengen Agreement, it is there still to identity checks. Especially around the curb child trafficking, all vehicles coming from Romania controlled with minors on board. Also, the transport of goods is subject to spot checks, which is why at priority actions prolonged congestion still occurs. Through the horsemeat scandal in Europe in 2013, these controls were designed for live animal transport, intensified again. After EU accession, a law was passed in Romania that it prohibits horse-drawn carriages to drive on national roads. This reduced the congestion and accidents in the villages, especially since many coaches at night and unlit were traveling, but have many small farmers now no way to bring their products to market in the cities.

In Romania, is currently built on the Autostrada A1, the sections are already completed. Thus, the ring-road of Sibiu in 2010 was opened to traffic in late 2013 and the section between Deva and Sebes. Thus, the European Route 68 was significantly relieved. A completion of the Romanian highway along the entire route is not expected before the end of 2015. In Hungary also missing the section between Mako and the border to be completed according to plan in the summer of 2014. In 2013 also the Danube Bridge New Europe was opened between Vidin and Calafat, which is why a part of transit traffic from Turkey and Bulgaria now takes this path and 68 only comes in Arad again on the European road back.

Pictures

Ortsdurchfahrt Apoldu de Sus / Großpold

The village Mintia in Mures; right the reserve track for tractors and horse-drawn carriages

The E68 in the village Lipova in Mures

Former passage through Szeged, before the construction of the highway bypass