Austrian Construction Company Told to Fix Cracking Surface on Motorway

The structure of the M30 motorway has shifted in several places at kilometer 38 in the Szikszó area, causing cracks to appear in the pavement. In order to avoid the risk of accidents, the operator, the Hungarian Concession Infrastructure Development Company (MKIF), decided to close the full width of the road in both directions, Világgazdaság reports.

The section concerned was built by Strabag, which has already been called on by the Hungarian state to carry out the repair. Világgazdaság has learned that the Austrian company is holding off for the time being. According to the latest information from Útinform, the restriction between the Miskolc junction 33 and the Szikszó junction 40 will last from February 17 to August 17 in both directions, meaning that

motorists will not be able to travel on this section for at least six months.

The news was confirmed to Világgazdaság by László Szimicsku, communications director of the MKIF, who added that “a 100-150 meter wide section of the track is sunken due to the shifting of its structure. The latter is 10-12 meters of ground.” He stressed that it will now almost certainly not be possible to travel on the closed section for many months, as it may be necessary to rebuild the entire structure. However, he pointed out that MKIF was not involved in the project either as investor or contractor, so all they could do was to report the problem to the Hungarian state, the investor.

The M30 motorway was opened to traffic less than two and a half years ago, in October 2021. The project started in March 2018, and cost a total of HUF 200 billion (EUR 515 million), making it one of the largest projects of the previous EU financial cycle.

The Hungarian state, the investor, has already called on the company to carry out the restoration work according to schedule.

In response to a request from Világgazdaság, the Austrian company wrote that “according to the contract between the STRABAG project directorate, which is constructing the construction section ‘A’ of the M30 motorway between Miskolc and Tornyosnémeti (between sections 30+100 and 40+500 km), and the Ministry of Construction and Transport (predecessor NIF Nemzeti Infrastruktúra Zrt.), the client can make an official statement, and we are not in a position to respond directly to you regarding the project in question.”

The Ministry of Construction and Transport has also been asked about the case. The ministry said that “the cause of the structural problem on the M30 motorway must be identified by the contractor under the terms of the contract, and that the contractor has been notified of the warranty defect.

Its investigation is currently ongoing with the involvement of relevant experts.

However, it has been indicated that the time of access to the work site and the duration of the closure can only be determined once the cause of the defect has been identified.

Via Világgazdaság, Featured image: Facebook/STRABAG