European route E79

European route E 79 is a road part of the International E-road network. It begins in Miskolc, Hungary and ends in Thessaloniki, Greece, also running through Romania and Bulgaria. The road is  long.

Itinerary 
The E 79 routes through four European countries:

: Miskolc (Start of Concurrency of ) - Igrici
: Igrici (End of Concurrency of ) - Görbeháza
: Görbeháza - Debrecen () - Berettyóújfalu
: Berettyóújfalu (Start of Concurrency of ) - Nagykereki

: Borș - Oradea (End of Concurrency of )
: Oradea - Beiuș - Deva
: Deva bypass ()
: Deva - Petroșani - Târgu Jiu - Filiași
: Filiași (Start of Concurrency of ) - Craiova (End of Concurrency of )
: Craiova - Calafat

: Vidin - Montana - Vratsa - Botevgrad
: Botevgrad - Sofia
:  
: West (Western arc)
: Sofia - Pernik – Blagoevgrad
: Blagoevgrad - Kulata

: Promachonas - Serres - Thessaloniki ()

Route description

Hungary 
The Hungarian section of E79 shares parts of its path with other E-roads, such as E60, E573 and E71.

Romania 
The Romanian section of the road is mostly new asphalt, as can be seen on the map with Romanian road quality. Although only in the region of  the road itself has many curves as it goes directly through 2 major mountain groups of the Carpathian range: the Apuseni Mountains and the Meridionali Mountains. With a  restriction when passing through the many minor villages, and a large part of its length in the Carpathian mountains (about 40-50% of its length in Romania), the average speed is generally in the 50–60 km/h range. 
Especially in the mountainous parts, the road can be considered as more suitable for tourism than for high speed traveling, but as it has been in a very poor state up until a couple of years ago, touristic infrastructure is still poorly developed (road side hotels, restaurants). Plan ahead if you consider staying overnight in hotels on this route (best options are outside of the cities, with few exceptions - Oradea, Deva - but there are not so many decent locations for accommodation).

Since 2012, work has begun to improve the quality of this road:
A. Oradea – Deva (Șoimuș) [under construction on approx. 2-3 % of its length]: Most of the road in this section has been modernized (as of August 2021, about 95% is in good condition). Drive carefully, especially during the night or in bad weather conditions, as many safety elements may be missing (there are many parts with good asphalt, but no traffic signs and road marks). Parts of the road are still under construction, while other parts have been finished and are good (some excellent). In August 2021, 3 traffic lights were still in place on this section.

Contracts were signed in late 2012 to improve this section. Status of work progress is December 2017, by section, North to South:

- Oradea-Beiuș (cca. 60 km): This section has been recently re-done completely. There may still be areas with poor or no road markings, so travel carefully especially during the night.

-  Beiuș-Ștei (cca. 28 km): This section has been recently re-done completely. There may still be areas with poor or no road markings, so travel carefully especially during the night. Constructor: AZVI/AZCALE (cca. 100 mil. RON without VAT, contract 5R13, progress in December 2016: >90%).

- Ștei-Vârfurile (cca. 33 km): Currently under construction on about 20-30% of its length. There still are 3 traffic lights in this sector. Work is progressing normally and the sector should be finished by the end of 2021. First contractor: SC Antreprenor Construct Mod SRL (progress status: 70% in December 2016). Contract was terminated and rest of the work was re-auctioned. Second constructor: Asocierea DRUM ASFALT S.R.L. & VAHOSTAV - SK a.s. & TRAMECO S.A. & ILE VIOREL CONSTRUCT S.R.L. (contract signed on May 2020).

- Vârfurile-Ionești (cca. 14 km): This mountainous section is still under construction (2–3 km still in heavy construction), with some parts in good condition (asphalt), but with no road markings, so travel carefully during the night. On many climbs, now there are 2 lines going up hill and one line down, so passing heavy traffic is possible. Original contractor was VIALES Y OBRAS PUBLICAS (cca. 43 mil RON without VAT, contract 5R11, progress in 2015: 29.76%). Contract cancelled in September 2015. Re-auctioned recently. Auction won by SC SYLC CON TRANS SRL / HIDROSTROY AD --- 55.945.649,16 RON without VAT. source

Starting with Ionești, the road is good until as far south as Calafat (400 km), with only very small portions still under construction.

- Ionești-Brad (cca. 20 km): PORR (cca. 65 mil. RON without VAT, contract 5R10b, 100% finished in December 2017).

- Șoimuș-Brad (cca. 30 km): SELINA (105 mil. RON without VAT, contract 5R10a, progress status in December 2017 - 100% - section accepted as completed by the national road company).

Initial financing sources for all contracts was: 50% from the state budget, 50% loaned from the European Investment Bank. On 4 December 2013, the Romanian Ministry for European Funds included this project on the list of infrastructure projects financed by the EU. The Ministry sent to the European Commission a request to evaluate the financing of this sector, for a total of 210 million Euro (of which 142 million Euro from the EU through the ERDF mechanism).
 
B. Deva – Petroșani [good, done]: The road has been significantly improved in the last years, being widened and having excellent asphalt quality on the entire section of the road (construction finished in 2012). It has recently been repaired (top layer of asphalt replaced). Small portions may still be under repair near Simeria (as of August 2021), but all work should finish in autumn/winter 2021. The portion Simeria-Hateg has no road markings (August 2021), but this too should be fixed by the end of the year.
C. Petroșani – Bumbești Jiu [good, small part still under construction - less than 1 km]: This section should be considered as good. Conditions have improved in late 2017  (due to rehabilitation work done by Copisa Constructora Pirenaica–Chirulli Andrea Impresa Individual–Coremi Inter joint venture - 34 mil. euro contract, signed on 29 June 2012). On 29 November 2013, the Romanian Ministry for European Funds sent to the European Commission a request to evaluate the financing of this sector, for a total of 396 million Euro (of which 288 eligible for EU funds, of which 244 million Euro from the EU through the ERDF mechanism). Works on this section were expected to take around two years, and were expected to be finished by the end of 2014. In December 2016, the section was still under construction on about 40% of its length. It is currently almost completely rehabilitated, with very good asphalt and jersey blocks to prevent fall into the valley. A small part of the road (less than 1 km), near an old monastery (Lainici), is still under construction in 2021 (as several variants were considered to move traffic away from the building). 2 bridges over the river Jiu are still under construction (Lainici and Bumbești),but will most likely be finished during 2018.
D. Bumbești Jiu – Craiova [good, minor construction work]: The section Bumbești Jiu – Rovinari is in good condition, almost completely rehabilitated (rehabilitation work by Asocierea Comsa S.A.U. - Corporate Management Solution SRL, 117 mil. RON, 85% FEDR + 15% National funds, 90% done in January 2016 according to the national roads company ). The section Rovinari - Filiasi has been repaired in 2010, by FCC Construccion, and is currently in good condition. The section Filiași – Craiova is part of the DN6 road and is in good condition, also being repaired in 2010.
E. Craiova – Calafat [good, almost done, cca. 95%]: In December 2017, the 2 sub-sections (Craiova-Galicea Mare, Galicea Mare-Calafat) are 92%, and 98% done. On 6 December 2013, the Romanian Ministry for European Funds sent to the European Commission a request to evaluate the financing of this sector, for a total of 73 million Euro (of which 47 million Euro from the EU through the ERDF mechanism).

Bulgaria 

The Bulgarian section of E79 spans nearly  from the North Bulgarian city of Vidin, connecting the Calafat–Vidin Bridge (or, alternatively, the Vidin-Calafat ferry line) across the Danube River and straight southwards towards Bulgaria's capital Sofia. The road has moderately good surface, it is constantly maintained and repaired and well signed with directing signs in Bulgarian and in English. Most of the length from Vidin to Botevgrad, the road is two-lane tarmac road following the natural relief of the landscape. There are sections where 3 lanes for overtaking slow-moving traffic are available. Rest stops and parking spots near the road are also available. The Bulgarian Traffic law prescribes a  in most residential areas coinciding with the route of the road and not more than  on the section of the road outside living areas. There are plans to upgrade Vidin-Botevgrad road to a grade separated expressway (close to motorway standard), allowing speeds up to .

From Botevgrad to Sofia, E79 joins Hemus motorway, designated A2. At the Bulgarian capital Sofia you have to enter the Ring Road, until Sofia Northern Bypass motorway is built. Signage is available. From Sofia to south there are  of motorways (A6 Lyulin motorway and A3 Struma motorway) to Dupnitsa-north interchange. The Bulgarian Traffic law allows speeds up to  on motorways unless otherwise stated. The road is leading from Dolna Dikanya to south, right to the Kulata-Promachonas. All the way to the Border Check point the road is of the standard 2-lane tarmac except for the section from the Pernik Province-Blagoevgrad Province border and the southern entrance to the city of Blagoevgrad where the road is of highway type and is  long. The section between Dupnitsa and Blagoevgrad, 37 km long, has been upgraded to a motorway standard and opened to traffic  2015. Also the last of these sections - lot 4 from Sandanski-south to the Greek border of 13 km opened to traffic in August 2015. The stretch between Blagoevgrad and Sandanski - lot 3 - passes through the Kresna Gorge and is planned to feature a  tunnel, which will be the longest motorway tunnel in Eastern Europe, whose construction will begin in 2015 and will cost app. EUR 650 mln.

There are no restriction to trucks driving in the weekends (except when temps rise above ) so they pose additional road hazard particularly high when driving at night. Traffic is usually heavy in weekends and overtaking has to be done swiftly and without risk, minding the other participants in the traffic.

At night, motorcyclists are required (and that is strongly advisable for their own safety) to use high-visibility vests.

Greece 
The Greek Section of E79 has a length of about . After crossing the Bulgarian-Greek border entering into Greece, the road drastically improves as it has been upgraded to a motorway; and speeds of up to  are common. After the Promachonas Border Checkpoint, there is a section in construction, about 20–30 km. After that the new 3 lane motorway is well managed, repaired and policed up to the city of Loutra Serron. Construction and upgrading works are still continuing near Serres (due to state budget cuts, works are not scheduled to complete before 2015). After Serres the 3 lane motorway continues for a further  and finally ends at a large junction with the A2/E90, which then provides direct access with Thessaloniki's Ring Road motorway and onto Chalkidiki, for travellers heading south.

References

External links 
 UN Economic Commission for Europe: Overall Map of E-road Network (2007)

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