National
Development Agency

The majority of public administration, healthcare, educational institutions and workplaces are located in micro-regional centres, towns and county seats. The poor state of public roads not only makes it difficult to access public services, but equally impedes economic growth and acerbates the income earning potentials of people living in the region. The 2007-2008 action plan of NHDP regional operational programmes also served to mitigate this problem, enabling the renewal of a total of 183 road stretches in Hungary’s 7 regions, i.e., 1114 kilometres of roads representing 50 billion HUF in value within the framework of 73 projects. These renewals are implemented within the framework of the New Hungary Development Plan under the auspices of the so-called regional development priority; the Hungarian Roads Management Company has been designated project host of these developments.

Four- and five-digit secondary roads are being renewed within the framework of STOP, which implies the implementation of a total of 5 projects in the Southern Transdanubian region, out of which 4 are being implemented in Baranya County. These renewals create better connections to the national highway network for several under-developed regions.  

Having technically handed over this road stretch, the decisive part of renewals taking place in the eastern part of Baranya County along Road 5606 has been completed. The road connecting Highway 56 to Highway 6 is one of the most important roads in the county. “The constructor reinforced the asphalt surface, cleaned the trenches and culverts, repaired and standardised the bus stops and reinstated road embankments,” said Mr Sándor Árki, County Director of the Hungarian Roads Management Company. The European Regional Development Fund financed the costs of the development implemented along a 32.6-kilometre-long stretch (along a total of 23 kilometres) to the sum of 815 million HUF; in other words, the state budget did not need to directly finance this renewal work.

Approximately 5,000 people live in the settlements lying in between Highway 6 and Highway 56, i.e., in Palotabozsok, Véménd, Feked, Lovászhetény, Somberek and Erdősmecsek. “The relevance of this road is expected to increase dramatically once the construction of Motorway M6 is fully completed, since this is the first road providing a connection to Motorway M6 from Highway 56 and Highway 6,” mentioned Dr István Ujhelyi, State Secretary, in his speech. This suggests that traffic is expected to significantly increase along this secondary road. 

In addition, locals will be able to rid themselves of many local problems. According to Mrs Friedrich, Mária Fazekas, mayor of the settlement of Palotabozsok, homes lying on the Véménd side of the settlement were continuously inundated by water. If the road is regularly maintained, this will not be a problem in the future. “Once the motorway is completed and trucks supplying construction materials vanish, Palotabozsok will once again become a tranquil and quiet settlement,” said the mayor of the settlement with an air of joy.

Dr István Nyúl, MP, emphasised that this development creates better access to Mohács and Pécs. “Whenever locals want to access special medical services, they go to Mohács, since this is where the village consultant’s office, registration office and building authority are. We go to work in Pécs, Pécsvárad and Mohács. Transport will be quieter, safer and faster once the construction work is completed. Settlements lying in the immediate vicinity of the motorway being constructed need to develop as well,” said the MP.

Objective of the project

• Improving access to and transport conditions in the settlements
• Closing the region’s development gap
• Improving the living conditions of residents living in the immediate vicinity of the road
• Reducing environmental damages
• Increasing travel safety
• Reducing travel time
• Increasing travel comfort

Renewal work

Road 5606 is one of the key secondary roads in Baranya County. It connects Highway 56 to Highway 6. The relevance of this road will nevertheless further increase dramatically once the construction of Motorway M6 is fully completed, since, besides the end junction at Bóly, the motorway’s only junction in Baranya County will be constructed in the Véménd region and traffic will be redirected to Road 5606. Consequently, this will be the first road from which traffic proceeding along Highway 56 and Highway 6 will be able to merge into the motorway, as an outcome of which traffic changes are expected to take place in the road network and the volume of traffic is expected to substantially increase along this secondary road.

Surface renewal works ensuring that Road 5606 will be able to efficiently carry the expected volume of traffic required for establishing the necessary preconditions for handing over the motorway in spring 2010 will be carried out within the framework of this project as an integral part of the South Transdanubia Operational Programme.  

Components of the renewal work:

• Widening the road
• Construction of traffic islands
• Asphalt reinforcement
• Cleaning trenches and culverts
• Repairing and standardising bus stops
• Reinstating embankments

Entities affected by the project

This project directly affects residents living in the settlements lying along Road 5606 using this national public road to commute to work and school or reach public administration services and indirectly affects transit traffic and traffic heading towards and coming off the motorway.  
Population of the settlements lying along the road stretch:
Somberek:                1833
Palotabozsok:            1173
Véménd:                   1651
Feked:                        284
Lovászhetény:             326

Approximately 5,000 people are directly affected by this project. Major transit traffic uses this road, mostly to access the motorway.