History
The construction of the A2 motorway between Bucharest and Constanța began in the communist era during Nicolae Ceaușescu's regime. The first section Fetești – Cernavodă (about 18 km) opened in 1987. This section includes the Cernavodă Bridge complex system of motorway and railway bridges and viaducts over the Danube and one of its branches at Cernavodă. The motorway bridge passes under the historical railway bridge built by Anghel Saligny in 1896, while the new railway in use today separates the motorway's roadways.
After the fall of the communism in 1989 the construction continued for a short period, but it was finally stopped in 1993 due to lack of financial resources. The construction continued after 1998, the motorway being completed in late 2012.
The total distance between Bucharest and Constanța on the A2 motorway is 202 km. The first sector between the Bucharest Ring Road (km 12) and Fundulea (km 36) is made from concrete slabs, while the rest is surfaced with asphalt. The motorway has 7 exits and 10 rest areas on each carriageway, 5 being served by filling stations. There is only one toll gate along the route, at Fetești (km 144), where a tax is charged for crossing the Danube bridges.
During summer, vehicles with maximum permissible weight over 7.5 t (16,535 lb) are forbidden to drive on the motorway from Friday to Sunday, between daylight hours.
It is planned that the motorway will be prolonged to the Bulgarian border, after the European Union accepted to finance in 2011 the Constanța – Vama Veche segment as the A4.
Read more about this topic: A2 Motorway (Romania)
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