Another Major Project Approved by Brussels – Motorway M0 to Be Extended with the Help of EU Funding 4 January 2010
The National Development Agency received approval from Brussels for the Hungarian major project aimed at constructing and extending the southern sector of the M0 Motorway ring road around Budapest and the stretch between Motorway M1 and M5. Together with this decision, 15 major projects have now received a nod of approval from Brussels, the total funding value of which exceeds 605 billion HUF and the total investment value of which is more than 750 billion HUF. Moreover, a further 14 major projects have been approved by the Government, of which 9 are currently awaiting approval in Brussels.
The way in which Hungary is one of the leading countries among EU member states in terms of the number of major projects submitted, although it ranks first in terms of the ratio of the total number of major projects planned, demonstrates the success of Hungarian development policy. These investments are extremely significant also because of how major investments prepared at a high standard will represent responses to the challenges the building industry and Hungarian labour market are facing due to the international financial and economic crisis.
Yet another step has been taken to construct the entire Hungarian motorway network thanks to the approval of this major project. The EU has granted co-funding amounting to 453.6 million EUR, which is equivalent to approximately 95 billion HUF, towards the implementation of this particular project, whilst the Government has approved funding amounting to 111 billion HUF for this project from the Transport Operational Programme, the total budget of which exceeds 120 billion HUF. 85% of the funding required to complete the extension of the entire southern stretch of this ring road will be covered from EU funding. The company National Infrastructure Developing Private Company Limited will oversee the implementation of this major project, which the National Development Agency submitted to the Commission on 9 March 2009.
A large number of heavy goods vehicles use this ring road. Its current capacity and two-lane dual carriageway structure is incapable of satisfying continuously increasing traffic demands. This is why the motorway will be converted into a three-lane dual carriageway motorway with hard shoulder within the framework of this development. The additional lanes will be constructed parallel to the existing highway and adjacent junctions will also be developed. 16 flyovers and one underpass will be constructed alongside a 770-metre-long bridge at Háros and a 500-metre-long bridge at Soroksár across the Danube. A three-lane dual carriageway motorway with hard shoulder ensuring a direct connection from Highway 51 to the ring road at the junction of motorways M0 and M5 will also be constructed along the ring road. The stretch to be constructed along this new route will substitute the stretch of Motorway M5 still connecting the southern and eastern sectors of Motorway M0 today.
As an outcome of this development, this road stretch reputed for its alarming accident statistics will be made faster and, at the same time, safer for drivers. It will divert transit traffic away from the municipal road network, hence significantly reducing and speeding up municipal traffic, and, more importantly, creating a cleaner and more liveable environment. Traffic lanes as well as hard shoulders will be constructed along this new section, hence increasing its capacity and creating better traffic conditions. Heavy goods vehicles proceeding at a lower speed will be better separated, which in turn is expected to increase the average speed of traffic. Moreover, better traffic conditions and fewer traffic jams are expected to improve traffic safety and decrease the number of accidents by 30%.