Largest ever motorway upgrade begins in Hungary!

The Kőröshegy viaduct. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Christo

The largest ever Hungarian motorway reconstruction project will start on 12 April, according to the Magyar Koncessziós Infrastruktúra Fejlesztő Zrt. (Hungarian Concession Infrastructure Development Company, MKIF).

Largest motorway reconstruction

MKIF staff will start the so-called levelling work on the M3 and M7 motorways. It will work at a total of 67 sites this year, the company’s website says. Work will be carried out on the M1, M15, M3, M30, M35, M4, M7 and M8 motorways, HellóMagyar reports.

In 2023, 297 km of 2 million square metres of old, ageing pavement in need of repair will be replaced with new asphalt, the wearing course and, where necessary, the binder course underneath.

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Many bridges will be renewed

Full levelling work will take three years, until 2025. Across the country, 200 bridges and flyovers will be upgraded, including four major bridges: the Rába (M1), the Tisza Bridge in Oszlár (M3), the Kőröshegy viaduct (M7) and the Pentele Bridge (M8). At 50-60 junctions, drainage systems and possible slope failures will be repaired.

30 rest areas are being renovated. The roofs of buildings and toilets are being repaired, and the machinery is being replaced and improved, all of which will increase operational safety and simplify operations. New furniture will also be installed in these rest areas to replace the outdated wooden street furniture.

In addition to planting trees, the game fences on both sides of the highways will be replaced. In the spirit of environmental awareness, there will also be selective waste bins at the rest stops along the way.