National
Development Agency

Thanks to funding granted by the European Union, so far the implementation of 37 approved projects has begun in Hungary from funding amounting to 168 billion HUF made available within the framework of transport development programmes, hence providing work for Hungarian enterprises.  

Road developments make travel safer and faster, make the concerned regions more competitive, boost the economy and create jobs. Over the past few days three renewed roads were handed over within the framework of the Transport Operational Programme of the New Hungary Development Plan, which helps alleviate local transport bottlenecks and improve the economic competitiveness of the settlements concerned. 

The road surface of the Zala County stretch of Highway 61 heading towards the Croatian-Slovenian border was upgraded within the framework of one of the projects handed over. The load capacity along this stretch has increased to 11.5 tonnes per axle, bridges were upgraded and the alignment of the road was standardised thanks to this development. In addition, new junctions were also created to help improve transport safety. . Smooth traffic flows will be ensured along the Zala County stretch of Highway 61 for the next 15 years as an outcome of this 640 million HUF investment.

The third and final 4.5-kilometre-long stretch of Highway 47 between Algyő and Hódmezővásárhely has been completed with the help of EU funding amounting to nearly 2.84 billion HUF. Together with the present phase, these road renewals (the first and second phase of which was completed between 2001 and 2003) were carried out along a nearly 15-kilometre-long section and were implemented from a total of nearly 9.1 billion HUF. A 1.95-kilometre-long service road and bicycle route was constructed to ensure access to neighbouring properties as a part of the investment that has just been handed over. Among others, a railway crossing was renewed, noise barriers were erected in front of buildings in the immediate vicinity of the road and grass, shrubs and trees were planted. Extending this 15-kilometre-long section into a 2x2 lane highway contributes to improving transport safety and reducing detrimental environmental impacts. This development will help increase mobility, provide a higher standard highway network, as well as better travel conditions for people living in the area. The implementation of the third phase impacts the region’s economic potential, county seat accessibility, traffic safety and therefore quality of life as well. 

The European Union contributed more than 1.8 billion HUF towards reinforcing the road surface along Highway 51 between the municipal area of Dunapataj and the Dunapataj-Kalocsa industrial site junction.

Highway 51 experiences heavy transit traffic between Budapest and micro-regions located in the proximity of the townships of Kalocsa and Baja, since vehicles using the bridges spanning the Danube at Szekszárd (Motorway M9), Dunaföldvár (Highway 52) and Dunaújváros (M8) merge into this highway. This highway must, in the long run, also be capable of accommodating transit traffic heading towards the southern border, to the renewed border crossing at Hercegszántó (Croatia). Access to the highway road network will be made easier as an outcome of the development that has just been handed over and mobility will improve by ensuring better travel conditions, which may in turn have a beneficial impact on employment levels.