As early as this week, the new four-lane section of highway 67 could reach the M7 motorway.Continue reading
Next year, the construction of the connection of Zalaegerszeg (western Hungary) to the national motorway network could start, and the total cost of the 44-kilometer section is estimated at HUF 400 billion (EUR 1 billion), János Lázár, Minister of Construction and Transport, said at a press event, reports Világgazdaság.
The first section of the M76 between the Hollád (Somogy county) junction of the M7 motorway and Balatonszentgyörgy (southern shore of Lake Balaton) was opened in October 2020, followed by a new, almost three-kilometer section of the M76 in March 2022. The 44-kilometer section between Zalaegerszeg and Fenékpuszta (Keszthely, western shore of Lake Balaton) was put out to tender by the National Infrastructure Development Ltd. in February 2022, but was withdrawn in June due to the investment halt.
Although no government decision has been issued yet to give the green light to the development, if the M76 is indeed re-launched with the technical content of the previous call,
it could be the most expensive highway in Hungary so far, with a unit cost of HUF 9.2 billion (EUR 24 million), even exceeding the M6 motorway. The latter cost HUF 4.5 billion (EUR 12 million) per kilometer.
The high cost may be explained by the complexity of the section that is also planned to be part of the Zalaegerszeg Automotive Test Track, where a 10-kilometer section would be set up as a test road for high-speed tests. Thirty-six bridges will be built on the section, four of which will be valley bridges and one spanning the Zala river.
The M7 motorway now. Photo via Wikipedia
Even so, the question remains as to why the project, originally estimated at HUF 170 billion (EUR 442 million), has become more expensive. Világgazdaság has asked the Ministry of Construction and Transport whether the technical parameters or the route have changed since the first call for tenders, and whether the HUF 400 billion mentioned by János Lázár includes the construction of the 28-kilometer section to Körmend (western Hungary).
“The mentioned estimated investment amount includes the construction from Sármellék – Zalaegerszeg to the eastern junction, the indicated cost includes the planned 2×2 lane connection of the main road No. 71 to Keszthely, the connection of the airport in Sármellék, and the development of the main road No. 76 between Fenékpuszta and Sármellék,” the ministry wrote in response to posed questions.
As to the criteria on the basis of which the government decides to launch investments, it was replied that the reviews always take into account the factors determining the priority of the investment in question, such as social, economic justification or other sectoral policy considerations.
The government’s long-standing priority is to provide all cities with 2×2 lane access to the motorway network, and to achieve this goal, the continuation of the M76 to Zalaegerszeg is still to be built,
they explained, adding that since the suspension of the project in the summer of 2022, the plans have not been modified, and no final decision has been made on the technical content of the future public procurement procedures.
Via Világgazdaság, Featured image via Wikipedia
