The A4 motorway ( ro, Autostrada A4) is a

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

that serves as a bypass for the city of

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

, between

Ovidiu Ovidiu (, historical name: ''Canara'', tr, Kanara) is a town situated a few kilometres north of Constanța in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. Ovidiu is quite small, with a population of around 12,000, and many wealthy inhabitants o ...

and the

Port of Constanța The Port of Constanța is located in Constanța, Romania, on the western coast of the Black Sea, from the Bosphorus Strait and from the Sulina Branch, through which the Danube river flows into the sea. It covers , of which is land and the res ...

, connecting with the A2 motorway via an interchange southwest of the city. It is 22 km long and is planned to be extended to approximately 60 kilometers, stretching further south to the Bulgarian border south of

Mangalia Mangalia (, tr, Mankalya), ancient Callatis ( el, Κάλλατις/Καλλατίς; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern ...

, along the western

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

coast. The motorway is part of an extension of the

Pan-European Corridor IV The Corridor IV is one of the Pan-European transport corridors. It runs between Dresden/Nuremberg in Germany and Thessaloniki (Greece) / Constanța (Romania) / Istanbul (Turkey). The corridor follows the route: Dresden / Nuremberg – Prag ...

, that will be connecting with the Bulgarian city of

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

Description

The contract for the construction of the stretch of motorway between

and Lazu was awarded in September 2008 to the joint venture between the Italian company

Astaldi Astaldi S.p.A. is an Italian multinational major construction company based in Rome. The group is active in the fields of civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, Electromechanical Engineering and transportation. Significant subsidiaries incl ...

and the Spanish company FCC Construction, and was due to be completed until November 2011. A new bridge was built over the Danube – Black Sea Canal, downstream of the Agigea lock, in order to allow access to the busier southern terminal of the Port of Constanța directly from the motorway. Works began in July 2010, and were planned to be completed in 2014. The bypass was initially built with funds from the state budget, but in the end of 2014, the European Commission awarded funds for the construction from the

Cohesion Fund The Cohesion Fund (CF), one of the five European Structural and Investment Funds of the European Union, provides support to Member States with a gross national income (GNI) per capita below 90% EU-27 average to strengthen the economic, social and ...

. The northern end is planned to be extended with an expressway through Tulcea and ending in Brǎila, including

Brăila Bridge The Brăila Bridge ( ro, Podul peste Dunăre de la Brăila) is a road suspension bridge in Romania over the Danube river, between Brăila, a major city in eastern Romania, and the opposite bank of the river in Tulcea County, on the DN2S natio ...

over Danube, that would be designated the "DEx8". As for the southern end, it is planned that tender procedures begin in 2023 for the segment between Agigea and 23 August ( 29 km), also termed the "Techirghiol Alternative", that would bypass

Eforie Eforie (; historical names (for Eforie Sud): ''Băile Movilă'', ''Carmen-Sylva'', ''Vasile Roaită'') is a town and a holiday resort on the Black Sea shore, in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is located about 14 kilometers south ...

and its surrounding area. This particular project would involve a reconfiguration of the junction with A2 in order to provide access to the new motorway segment, as well as to nearby

Cumpăna Cumpăna is a commune in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. Administration The commune includes the village with the same name, Cumpăna (historical name: Hașiduluc, tr, Haşiduluk). The village was mentioned under the name ''Hașidu ...

Openings timeline

*29 July 2011: Constanța West ( interchange with A2) – Lazu segment (about 5 km). *30 September 2011: DN3 interchange – Constanța West interchange (3 km). *19 July 2012:

– DN3 interchange (11 km). *12 July 2013: Lazu –

segment (2 km).

Exit list

References

External links

Map of the Constanța bypass (pdf file)CNADNR – Varianta de ocolire Constanța
{{Roads in Romania Motorways in Romania