As a result of the repairing works lasting more than two years,

We Are Back on Traffic on the Arad - Timisoara Route

 

In June 1998, the Minister of Transportation of that time, Mr. Traian Basescu, decided to immediately stop the traffic of trains over the bridge crossing Mures river which makes a direct connection between Arad and Timisoara counties, called by the inhabitants, Timisoara Bridge. The bridge’s old age, the multiple changes, the intensive exploitation and the heavy rains affected severely its infrastructure stability, and caused a potential risk for the construction to fell down. Stopping the traffic on this route caused the limitation of the number of trains on such route and the deviation of the traffic for the freight and public trains through Ilia railway station. Another consequence was that, between Arad and Timisoara the distance got twice than in a normal situation. Also the long-distance trains had to go an a deviation route Filiasi-Petrosani-Simeria, thing that led to a substantial increase of electric energy and fuel consume, as well as to the extension of the access times, of exploitation costs for the infrastructure and to the cancellation of many trains that used to circulate on this route.

Repairing works had to be started as soon as the waters cooled down after the floods from 1998 would have allowed this process, since the bridge is located on one of the networks belonging to the pane-European 4 Corridor. Misfortunately, because of the fact that many of the local administrators transformed this issue of the bridge, into a mere catastrophic matter, and consequently proposed solutions that proved to be more expensive that those provided by the ex-SNCFR, it took two years for finding the appropriate solutions that could satisfy everybody. That is why the works had hardly started during the last year fall.

The necessity of a sooner re-opening of the route led to the variant of consolidation of the existing bridge’s infrastructure and replacing its platforms. National Railway Company CFR - SA and CCCF SA, in its quality as constructor, concluded a General Construction Agreement for the capital repairing of the bridge and for the supplementary works, i.e. realization of an underground passage for automobile traffic and three passages for passengers, installation of phonic-absorbing panels on 1 km distance -long in order to reduce phonic pollution in such area. The Project completion date is supposed to be June, 30, 2001.

In order to make up for the lost time, and consequently to reduce the losses caused by traffic deviation, railway constructors worked in an alert rhythm, even if from time to time weather was not in their favor, managing to advance the Project completion date almost with seven months.

The total aggregate of these works completed so far, reaches the amount of ROL 113.6 billions, amount that covers the complete restructuring of no 1 file of the bridge, consolidation of the other files and curls, general replacing of the metallic superstructure of the bridge and raising the rail-tracks crossing Micalaca neighborhood from Arad county, as well as the execution of the forth underground passages for the fluidization of traffic and the increase of traffic safety, both for cars and passengers.

Thus, by re-opening the railway traffic in the area, on December 10, 2000, we will be able to re-make the strategic and functional connection between the two historical Romanian regions: Banat and Crisana.

Reporting Magda Olaru