Transfăgărășan

If we had to put it in just a few words, than the Transfagarasan (DN 7C) is just the road that passes through Fagaras Mountains (the highest mountains in Romania – Moldoveanu peak – 2544 meters) and that connects Walachia and Transylvania. But in fact Transfagarasan road is more than that. It is the road that climbs to the highest altitude in Romania, 2042 meters, in the Glacial Hollow Balea. It has two traffic lanes of 92 kilometers long. Because of the countless turns, the average speed is maximum 40 km per hour. Along this route there are 27 viaducts and bridges, and the longest road tunnel in Romania - 887 meters, that passes through Paltin Mountains, from Capra to Balea Lake. The ventilation of the tunnel is made naturally, thanks to the extremely powerful currents. The traffic lane inside the unlighted tunnel is only 6 meters wide and there is a one meter broad pavement

Tourists who would like to “venture” on the Transfagarasan Road are advised to climb it from South to the North. Romania’s most famous road runs from Arefu village (at km 61 of DN7C) in the county of Arges, to the county of Sibiu, somewhere near Cartisoara village (at the crossroad with DN1).

The landscape is fantastic, and the differences of altitude and the curves represent a challenge for both cars and drivers. Unfortunately, because of the weather conditions, Transfagarasan Road is opened for only a few months every year, usually from July until October.

The most important tourist attractions are Vidraru Lake and Vidraru Dam, which is one of the greatest in Europe, then Poienari Fortress (built in the time of Vlad Tepes), Balea Glacial Lake and Balea Waterfall.

How it bas built

Transfagarasan was built between 1970 and 1974. A brief presentation with numbers might be difficult to follow, but for those who have the patience to read it is worth saying that about 3 million tones of hard rocks were dislocated, 830 transverse works and 290 000 cubic meters of masonry were made for building those 92 kilometers of road. For building the Capra – Balea Tunnel there were excavated over 41 000 cubic meters of rocks. There were also used 20 tones of dynamite, 3 573 tones of cement, 89 tones of concrete steel, 24 000 of anchors, 129 tones of brazed nets, 14 200 square meters of encasements, 1750 meters of concrete tubes, 4 100 meters of pipes, 50 tones of metal composites, 6 900 cubic meters of grit, 6000 cubic meters of gravel, 3 000 tones of crushed rocks and 740 lighting lamps.