Massive Vienna-Budapest motorway expansion project starts soon

The M1 motorway is significant in Hungary, as it is a critical transportation route in the country, serving as a lifeline for both domestic and international travel and commerce. The motorway connecting Budapest and Vienna will be part of a major expansion project that starts soon. Here is everything you need to know about the scheme.

Roadworks across the country

As Világgazdaság reports, the Hungarian Concession Infrastructure Development Ltd. started a 10-year project to improve the motorway network in Hungary. The Chief Executive Officer, Tamás Németh, says that they will carry out at least as much work as in 2023 when the project kicked off. One of the most striking features of this construction will be the new asphalt. It has been around 30 years since there has been such a major overhaul of the national motorways. So far, 3.6 million square metres of old, damaged pavement have been replaced with new asphalt. That is approximately 19% of the total road segment that is planned to be renewed.

The starting date of the renovation

The construction will restart after the long weekend, after the 15th of March national holiday. According to Németh, most of the M1 is finished, but small parts have remained untouched so far. The biggest upgrades will be on the M3 and the M7. In addition, there will be smaller roadworks on M30, M35, M70 and M15 as well.

Németh has also promised to publish detailed daily breakdowns of the renovations, thus drivers can plan ahead and know what to expect on the roads. However, due to weather conditions, there will be times unfit for carrying out any roadwork.

The expansion of the M1 motorway

While the roadworks mentioned above only include renovation such as the new asphalt layer, there will be constructions as well, such as the expansion of the M1 motorway. The extension of M1 will begin next year. Officially, the company is obligated to start by autumn 2025. However, they are planning to start around mid-May. The machines used for the roadwork will start arriving in the summer.

It will be a dramatic expansion, with three lanes twice, plus a so-called ITS (intelligent hard shoulder), which will be open when traffic conditions justify it. Thus, vehicles will be able to drive in up to four lanes. The first phase of the extension itself will stretch from the M0 to almost Győr. Németh promises that the two-lane carriageway will be maintained on both sides throughout the extension.

The timetable for the extension

The major construction project will take about ten years. According to the plans, the company will complete the first phase of the M1 in four years, by 2029. However, they will start working on other projects at the same time. The work on the M7 will start as early as 2027. The company plans to complete the extension to three lanes twice with ITS lanes up to Szabadbattyán. The last part of the extension will be carried out on the M3 to Gyöngyös. This construction will start in 2031 and is expected to finish in 2034.