The largest highway tunnel in Romania, half way there. When the tunnel on Autostrada Vestului will be pierced
Builders of the last unfinished section of the Western Freeway have accelerated work to complete it in 2026. Almost half of the nine-kilometer segment contains complex works of art, including the largest freeway tunnel under construction.
Highway with tunnels. Photo: Daniel Guță. TRUTH
Started in 2024, the works on the Margina – Holdea section of the West Motorway (Lugoj – Deva) have a completion date of 2026.
The segment, with a total length of 13 kilometers, presents a high degree of difficulty due to the two tunnels, whose four galleries total 4.6 kilometers. To date, more than 2.6 kilometers of excavations have been carried out, with less than two kilometers remaining to be dug.
When the great tunnel could be pierced
Almost 800 workers are mobilized on the “Highway with tunnels” construction site. The most complex works take place on the route of the Great Tunnel, with a length of about two kilometers. To speed up the pace of execution, the contractors opened ten work fronts on the two one-way galleries.
“At the right T2 gallery, with a total length of 1,985 linear meters, the total excavation (under the slabs of the portals, cut & cover and gallery) reached 817 linear meters. At the left T2 gallery, with a total length of 1,825 linear meters, the total excavation reached 1,024 linear meters”, sent the Regional Directorate of Roads and Bridges.
Around January 20, at the right T2 gallery, executed by the contractor UMB, 660 meters were excavated, part by the “cut & cover” method, and the rest by underground excavation. On the same date, at the left T2 gallery, executed by the contractor Euro Asfalt, 796 meters of excavation were carried out, both underground and in the areas executed from the surface.
Estimates show that, between January and February, 157 meters were excavated at the right gallery (approximately 4.4 meters per day) and 228 meters at the left gallery (approximately 6.4 meters per day). If the pace of work from the beginning of this year is maintained, the right T2 gallery of the Great Tunnel could be pierced in November, and the left one in June.
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Highway with tunnels in western Romania The Holdea tunnels Photo Daniel Guță THE TRUTH (67) JPG
Also, if the cumulative advance of the excavation work at the Great Tunnel is maintained at approximately 11 meters per day, its complete breakthrough is estimated for August 2026. However, the pace of work could increase at the two galleries, with the advance on the new fronts, compared to the beginning of the year, when the working conditions were made difficult by the weather.
In the optimistic scenario, in which the advance of the excavations would reach 20 meters per day (approximately two meters on each front), the complete breakthrough of the Great Tunnel could take place in June 2026.
The Small Tunnel, in an advanced stage
At the Small Tunnel (T1), excavation work has been completed on both galleries. On the left gallery, executed by UMB, with a length of 415 meters, work is currently being done on the waterproofing and the final lining. In the case of the other gallery, executed by Euro Asfalt, with a length of 367.5 meters, the waterproofing has been completed, and work continues on the final concrete lining. In the spring of this year, these operations could be completed.
The tunnels on the Margina – Holdea section were designed to avoid deep sinkholes, risks of instability and negative environmental impact, according to the environmental agreement. They are built in Holdea, on the border of Timiș and Hunedoara counties, they are completed by three passages, one of which is over a kilometer long. The two tunnels are connected by a passage of 121 meters.
At Margina, the builders have prepared the ground for the casting of beams at the new passages and viaducts, which are at an advanced stage in terms of infrastructure (piles and foundations).
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Highway with tunnels in western Romania The tunnels from Holdea Photo Daniel Guță THE TRUTH (16) jpg
The Margina – Holdea lot is nine kilometers long, to which is added a four-kilometer segment in the Margina area (Section D), partially completed in the past years, but left unfinished.
Currently, the progress of work on the entire section, including Section D, has exceeded 53 percent. Completion of the works is expected in 2026. The segments are part of the A1 Lugoj – Deva Highway, which is approximately 100 kilometers long and crosses Timiș and Hunedoara counties, in western Romania. With the inauguration of the last sector, there will be a complete connection between the cities in central Romania (Alba Iulia, Sibiu, Cluj-Napoca and Târgu Mureș) and the western border, at Nădlac, as well as with Arad and Timișoara.
