One km bike lane for 750 thousand EUR? In Hungary, that’s reality
Road construction costs large amounts of money in Hungary. Millions of forints are spent on a short bicycle lane, and the price differences are significant.
As Daily News Hungary wrote before, the M6 motorway is being built for HUF 4.5 billion (EUR 12.5 million).
Of course, roadworks can have varied prices based on economy, the materials used, and the change in the other prices of products and utensils necessary for construction. Bicycle lanes are even less expensive than roads, but in Hungary, they can also be very pricey, and differences between the costs are noticeable.
A bicycle lane in Szentendre (Pest County) cost 250 million forints (EUR 706,399) per kilometre. Between Dunakeszi and Budapest (also Pest County), the price was even higher; the 5.8-kilometre-long bicycle lane was constructed at the cost of 1,114 billion forints, which means that just one kilometre cost 200 million forints (EUR 565,119), writes Magyar Narancs.
The most expensive investment was the bicycle lane between Paks and Dunakömlőd (Tolna County), where one kilometre cost more than 260 million forints (EUR 734,655), and the total cost rose up to 663 million forints (EUR 1,873,371) for 2.5 km only. The renovation of a 6.4-kilometre-long bicycle lane between Fertőd and the border (Győr-Moson-Sopron County) cost as low as 45 million forints (EUR 9,157,823) per kilometre. The investment was 293 million forints (EUR 827,900) in total.