Redesigned Metropolitan Road Ring, wider and more expensive

In December 2023, the decisions of the Bihor County Council that were the basis of the project – the approval of the technical-economic indicators, the expropriation and the feasibility study – were annulled by the Cluj Court of Appeal.

“We made the decision to redesign this road in accordance with the decision from Cluj-Napoca. The basic reason why these decisions were annulled is the fact that this road had to be designed for the status of a national road, instead of a county road”, said the president of the Bihor County Council, Ilie Bolojan, on Wednesday, during a press conference. He added that “in all bad there is good”, pointing out that this switch to the national road has several advantages for road users, as the road will now be nine meters wide instead of eight. “Drivers will have a wider road and better visibility,” said President CJ Bihor.

The technical project is to be finalized next month. Compared to the area initially proposed for expropriation, of 339,000 square meters, the institution now has an additional 47,000 square meters to expropriate, of which a third is part of the public domain, the rest being private property.

“According to the new design data, we estimate that the value will increase by 10-13%, therefore, compared to the initial value of 40 million euros, the value will increase by about 5 million euros,” said Bolojan.

He explained that the value increases due to the widening of the road, the introduction of a roundabout at Nojorid (where the road intersects with the future belt) and at the request of the Sânmartin City Hall for a new connecting road between the Băile 1 Mai resort and the ring. At the same time, in the area of ​​the Băile Felix viaduct, a lower passage is introduced due to the development of the area.

After the approval of the new draft decision, the builder will proceed to the execution of works along the entire length of the road ring, according to Bolojan.

Redesigned on the original route

As for the route, it remains unchanged.

“For bypass options, there is a recommendation that, as far as possible, they should be made in the outskirts of the towns. This cannot be done in this area, because of the way the three town halls, Oșorhei, Nojorid and Sânmartin, have defined their urban areas. They were not defined in the compact living area. For example, the urban area of ​​the Oșorhei commune extends almost to the former Coca-Cola factory in Săcădat”, emphasized the president CJ Bihor. “Sânmartin is in a similar situation,” added the head of the CJ.

Under these conditions, Bolojan points out, changing the route would have led to an increase in the length of the road by 5-7 kilometers, affecting protected areas as well, and would have been “financially unsustainable”.

“From a technical, economic, environmental opinion point of view, it appears that the initial route is a feasible one. It was established together with the town halls of the communes of Oșorhei, Nojorid and Sânmartin. No work done so far is being destroyed, nothing is being given up, but these changes have only appeared as a result of the court’s decision,” said the quoted source. Bolojan stated that the road will be completed next year. The work, divided into two batches, started in the second half of September 2023 and has reached a physical stage of about 25%. The builder is currently working on the two viaducts on the route.

PNL+UDMR+PSD=LOVE

PSD and UDMR statements in the ordinary meeting of the Bihor County Council.

“Today, shortly before this meeting, I received a message from Mr. President Cseke Attila and he communicated the following: (…) 1. PNL and UDMR Bihor agreed that the two formations support each other in the area of ​​Culture. PNL Bihor, its councilors will support the proposals of UDMR Bihor regarding the Hungarian cultural institutions subordinated to the County Council and the Municipal Council. Certainly, in a similar way, UDMR will support the decisions of PNL Bihor, regarding cultural institutions of the Romanian language in the county. 2.

Both communities, both Romanian and Hungarian, must benefit from large infrastructure projects. Just as the connection of the city of Oradea to the highway was also realized on a similar agreement Bolojan – Cseke, so the town halls of UDMR Bihor, Borș. Biharia actively participated in the start of this project, likewise the Oradea belt, which helps the town in the North of Oradea will be supported, promoted by the PNL, and the UDMR will help to unblock the situation of the metropolitan belt in the south of the city. Mr. President, please confirm this understanding to me, if it was with Minister Cseke Attila,” said Borsi Imre Lorant, leader of the UDMR group.

“I want to thank the UDMR group for supporting the resolution projects that need two thirds, so that these projects can be adopted. I would put things in a different way. Institutions must operate based on criteria of efficiency, performance and orientation towards public service.

So I think we can all commit to supporting these issues, regardless of political color, regardless of other things like that. The materials that are on the agenda today, those related to cultural institutions and large investment projects, I think require, it is good to be supported because this is the public interest of the Bihoreans, to carry out important investment projects and also to we have efficient public institutions, including in the area of ​​Culture. Thank you to the UDMR group for this announcement”, answered Ilie Bolojan.

“As is known, PSD did not oppose the realization of this project and was not against its realization. We only opposed the route that was originally proposed, representing and at the request of the group of citizens from Cheriu, through whose gardens the route was to pass. I also came up with a proposal to modify the route, which meant an extension of 700 meters, which would have meant, according to your estimates, one million euros, somewhere below 3% of the project value. But it was a process, it ended.

Today is a sentence, we hope that the owners will receive their expropriations at the right price. Given that the project you are proposing to us today complies with the provisions of the sentence given by the Cluj Court of Appeal, which only recommends not requiring the change of route, and here we find that in every evil there is also a good. (…) It is good that the carriageway is widened because it will lead to smoother traffic and safer traffic. Considering that the project complies with the sentence, the implementation stage existing today, as well as its importance for Bihor county, the PSD Bihor group will vote for this project”, said the leader of the PSD group, Bujor Chirilă.