Ploiești–Siret Motorway


The Ploiești–Siret Motorway, designed as the A7, is a planned motorway in Romania, that upon completion will link Ploiești to the north-eastern part of the country, partly along the Pan-European Corridor IX.

History

Initially it was designed as a 314 km long motorway branching off the A3 motorway and passing through Buzău, Focșani, and Albița, to the border with Republic of Moldova. However, since 2014 plans in favor of a motorway past Focșani were scrapped in favor of a motorway towards Bacău, Suceava, and Siret termed A7. The motorway from Focșani to Albița will have a different route number assigned and, as of April 2014, it was no longer a priority in the master plan for the national motorway network.

Sections

The first section, from Ploiești to Focșani, was proposed for a concession contract for tendering first half of 2013. No contract was signed, and the only section that has been tendered was the Bacău bypass in August 2013, but built at only half profile. It was awarded for construction in November 2013, but the results of the tender were contested by some of the participants. Later in 2014, the whole motorway was redesigned as an expressway that would later be expanded to full motorway specifications.
On 30 May 2016, the construction works at Bacău bypass started, and they were expected to be finished by 2022, but the contract with the Turkish company Eko İnşaat ve Ticaret was terminated in April 2017, due to financial difficulties of the constructor.
In December 2017, the Bacău bypass was reauctioned, this time as a full motorway section, and was awarded in December 2018, to the local based Spedition UMB – Tehnostrade joint venture, with the deadline in three years.