The M5 highway ( ro, Drumul național M5), during Soviet period referred to as the M14, is the longest road in

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

, with a length of running from the north to the south-east. Having

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

status, it is also one of the most important routes as it provides access to the three largest cities of Moldova within its internationally recognized borders:

Bălți Bălți (; russian: Бельцы, , uk, Бєльці, , yi, בעלץ ) is a city in Moldova. It is the second largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city is one of the five Moldovan municipalit ...

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

and

Tiraspol Tiraspol or Tirișpolea ( ro, Tiraspol, Moldovan Cyrillic: Тираспол, ; russian: Тира́споль, ; uk, Тирасполь, Tyraspol') is the capital of Transnistria (''de facto''), a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the th ...

. It forms part of the European routes E58, E581 and E583 of the

International E-road network The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Centr ...

Route description

It starts at the north-western border with

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

(

Chernivtsi Oblast Chernivtsi Oblast ( uk, Черніве́цька о́бласть, Chernivetska oblast), also referred to as Chernivechchyna ( uk, Чернівеччина) is an oblast (province) in Western Ukraine, consisting of the northern parts of the regio ...

) in Criva, as a continuation of the Ukrainian H10 coming from

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the upp ...

. The road heads east around 30 km to the town of

Briceni Briceni (, uk, Брича́ни, yi, בריטשאן, Britshan, pl, Bryczany) is a city in northern Moldova. It is the seat of Briceni District. Demographics At the 2004 census, the city had a population of 8,765. At the 1930 census, there ...

from the border crossing. The town is served by the M5 through the local roads L20 and L41. The road begins to head south afterwards to the city of

Edineț Edineț (, uk, Є́динці, yi, יעדינעץ, Yedinets, pl, Jedeńcy) is a town and municipality in northern Moldova. It is the administrative center of the eponymous district. The town is located 201 km north of the national capit ...

, which the M5 bypasses in the west. The road from Edineț is part of the

European route E583 European route E 583 is a European B-class road connecting the city of Roman in Romania with Zhytomyr in Ukraine, via Moldova. Route * ** : Roman (E85) – Săbăoani ** : Săbăoani – Târgu Frumos (Start of concurrency with E58) ...

. Continuing to head south, near

Rîșcani Rîșcani (, also spelled ''Râșcani'') is a city in Moldova, the capital of the Rîșcani District. It is located along the Copăceanca river, about 22 kilometres from the station in Drochia. Two villages are administered by the city, Bălanul ...

the M5 has a

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...

with the republican road R7, providing access to the town, as well as to

Drochia Drochia () is a city in the northern part of Moldova. It is the administrative center of the eponymous district. The city is located north of the national capital, Chișinău, and north-east of the Romanian city of Iaşi. The average elevat ...

via the republican road R12 and, before reaching Bălți, it connects to Bălți International Airport. It then reaches

, the second-largest city of Moldova and the location of the southern terminus of the interference with the E583, which it bypasses in the west as part of the Bălți

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

. From Bălți, the M5 heads south-east to the capital and largest city of Moldova,

. North of Chișinău, the road meets with the M1 and M2, as well as the republican road R4 through a complex interchange. Being part of E583 and interfering with the European roads E58 and E581, the M5 bypasses the capital in the north-east. From the junction with the republican road R5, the road continues to head south-east to the border with the

unrecognized state A number of polities have declared independence and sought diplomatic recognition from the international community as sovereign states, but have not been universally recognised as such. These entities often have ''de facto'' control of their ...

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

Gura Bîcului Gura Bîcului is a commune and village in the Anenii Noi District of the Republic of Moldova. The Gura Bîcului bridge on the Dniester river was blown up on 5 May 1992 during the war. It was later rebuilt by the Organization for Security and Co-o ...

. During the Transnistria War in 1992, the bridge that the M5 has over the

Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

river was blown up, and a gap was left in that area until 18 November 2017, when the bridge connecting Moldova and Transnistria reopened to traffic after reconstruction works have been completed. The road in Transnistria is controlled by the separatist government from Tiraspol, rather than the Moldovan authorities. From the unrecognized border between the two states, the M5 heads east. North of

, the capital of Transnistria and the third-largest city in Moldova within its internationally recognized borders, the M5 has a

with the M4, providing access to the city. The road bypasses Tiraspol in the north-east then heads towards the city of

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

at the

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, reaching the border with

(

Odessa Oblast Odesa Oblast ( uk, Оде́ська о́бласть, translit=Odeska oblast), also referred to as Odeshchyna ( uk, Оде́щина) is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern ...

) at Pervomaisc. Here, the road merges with the Ukrainian

M16 The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...

, which in Odessa further connects with the Ukrainian M14 road, which runs along the coast towards the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n border.

References

Gallery

M14_-_L443_crossroads_-_panoramio.jpg, M5 highway near

Strășeni Strășeni (, russian: Страшены, Стрэшень, translit=Strasheny, Streshen, latter Russian name used in Moldovan Russian-language media) is a city and municipality of about 20,000 inhabitants in central Moldova, the administrative ce ...

M14,_Grătiești,_Moldova_-_panoramio_(3).jpg, M5 highway at

Grătiești Grătiești is a commune in Sectorul Rîșcani of Chișinău municipality, Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the ...

M14,_Moldova_-_panoramio_(20).jpg, Gas station on the M5 highway, at an intersection with a local road Criuleni_District%2C_Moldova_-_panoramio_%2830%29.jpg, Junction on the M5 highway with republican road R5 Дорога_по_холмам,_дальше_пойдёт_ровнее_-_panoramio.jpg, M5 highway between

and the unrecognized state of

{{Roads in Moldova, state=expanded Roads in Moldova

Route description

See also

References

Gallery