Hungary’s minister of transport announced new motorway and expansions
János Lázár, Minister of Construction and Transport of Hungary, announced in Sopron that the government aims to strengthen employment opportunities in Western Hungary so that residents in the region, such as Szombathely, Sopron, and Győr, will not have to commute to Austria for work. To achieve this, a new motorway construction and four-lane expansion programme is being launched in the area.
New motorway to keep Hungarian workforce away from abroad
The minister said that for logistical accessibility, a motorway has already been built to Sopron, and the next step is to begin construction of a new motorway in 2026 on the route between Kőszeg, Szombathely and Körmend. At the same time, the four-lane expansion of the 84 main road towards Lake Balaton is also due to commence.
Hungary’s government plans to rebuild the approximately 100 kilometres between Sopron and Lake Balaton to make the city logistically unavoidable from all directions. As VG writes, the new road infrastructure will link Szombathely and Körmend as well as Szombathely and Kőszeg, with the combined construction cost expected to be around HUF 200 billion.
Completely new roads and renovations planned
The construction is planned to be completed within three years, with HUF 500 million allocated this year and HUF 1.5 billion next year for land acquisition. The exact sources of funding for the project have yet to be confirmed; however, the government does not rule out cooperating with partners for the western bypass section of the road. Notably, the first three kilometres of the future M87 motorway around Szombathely will be part of this bypass.
Progress is also promised on the M100 expressway, which will connect the M1 motorway with Esztergom. The public procurement process is set to be launched at the beginning of 2026, and construction is expected to begin by the end of 2026, although the funding sources for this project remain uncertain.
Lázár on overwriting the current speed limits
A few weeks ago, at a “transport briefing”, Lázár said that technically it would be possible to raise the motorway speed limit in Hungary from the current 130 km/h to 140, but public opinion so far has not supported the idea, according to 444. The government will therefore launch a kind of national consultation on possible amendments to the Highway Code.
The minister also suggested that buses and larger lorries could be allowed to travel 10 km/h faster, though this remains uncertain. He stressed that while he would like to see lower speeds in urban areas, some increase could be allowed on motorways. He pointed out that inappropriate speed is responsible for one third of serious accidents, although the most common cause is failure to give way.
Speed limits don’t save lives, but responsibilty does?
According to Lázár, in practice many drivers already travel at 140–160 km/h in Hungary, so he considers personal responsibility to be the key factor. He referred to the German system, where variable speed limits apply and accident rates are more favourable, but added that there is no social demand in Hungary to adopt such a model.
Average speed checks, which measure speed over a longer section of road rather than just at fixed points, were also raised. Although this method could more effectively catch speeding drivers, the government does not plan to introduce it, describing it as an “overly harsh system”. The consultation will therefore address several issues, but final decisions will be based on public feedback.