Detail of the M3 Archeopark open-air museum

The M3 motorway ( hu, M3-as autópálya) is a Hungarian

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 ...

connecting

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Nyíregyháza Nyíregyháza (, sk, Níreďháza) is a city with county rights in northeastern Hungary and the county capital of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. With a population of 118,001, it is the seventh-largest city in Hungary and the second largest in ...

. It will eventually connect Budapest to the

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

border. Two other motorways branch off it, the M30 (connecting the M3 to

Miskolc Miskolc ( , , ; Czech language, Czech and sk, Miškovec; german: Mischkolz; yi, script=Latn, Mishkoltz; ro, Mișcolț) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 (1 Jan 2014) Miskolc is the ...

) and the

M35 M35, M.35 or M-35 may refer to: Military * M35 series 2½-ton 6×6 cargo truck, a US Army truck * , a Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessel launched in 1982 * ADGZ or ''M35 Mittlere Panzerwagen'', a 1930s Austrian Army heavy armored car * Cannone ...

(connecting the M3 to

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and ...

). The M3 follows the route of route 3, and, later, route 4. The section of the motorway between Görbeháza and Nyíregyháza was opened to the public in August 2007. The latest section of the motorway, the one between Highway 49 and

Vásárosnamény Vásárosnamény is a small town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. It also includes Vitka since 1969, and in 1939 Gergelyi and Ugornya formed by uniting Gergelyiugornya. Postal history Pri ...

was opened to the public in 2014. The total length of the motorway now is 281 km.

Openings timeline

–

Gödöllő Gödöllő (; german: Getterle; sk, Jedľovo) is a town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary, about northeast from the outskirts of Budapest. Its population is 34,396 according to the 2010 census and is growing rapidly. It can b ...

(14 km): 1978.10.16. *Gödöllő –

Hatvan Hatvan is a town in Heves county, Hungary. Hatvan is the Hungarian word for "sixty". Etymology Hatvan is the Hungarian word for "sixty". It is a common urban legend that the town got this name because it is 60 km from Budapest, but in fact the na ...

(29 km): 1980.10.31. *Hatvan –

Gyöngyös Gyöngyös (; german: Gengeß) is a town in Heves county in Hungary, east of Budapest. Situated at the foot of the Sár-hegy and Mátra mountains, it is the home of numerous food production plants, including milk production and sausage factori ...

-west (15 km): 1983 *Gyöngyös-west –

Füzesabony Füzesabony is a town in Heves County, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to t ...

(44 km): 1998.09.01. *Füzesabony – Polgár (61 km): 2002 *Polgár – Görbeháza; M35 (11 km): 2004.10. *Görbeháza; M35 –

(41 km): 2007.08.31. *Nyíregyháza bypass (8 km): 2006.08.05. *

Nagykálló Nagykálló ( yi, קאלעוו, Kaliv) is a small town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. Before World War II it belonged to Szabolcs county. Location from county seat Nyíregyháza. Histo ...

–

Őr Őr is a village in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and has a population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, wheth ...

(33,8 km): 2013.01.16. *Őr –

(11,9 km): 2014.10.10.

List of junctions, exits and rest area

Distance from

Zero Kilometre Stone The Zero Kilometre Stone is a 3 m high limestone sculpture in Budapest that represents Kilometre Zero in Hungary. It consists of a zero sign, with an inscription on its pedestal reading "KM" for kilometres. It was initially located at the thresh ...

(Adam Clark Square) in Budapest in kilometres. * Hungary road sign E-016

The route is full length ''motorway''. The maximum speed limit is 130km/h, with 2 active lanes and 1 emergency

(2x2 lane road with stop lane). * ''Under construction'', ''Planned section''

Maintenance

The operation and maintenance of the road by Hungarian Public Road Nonprofit Pte Ltd Co. This activity is provided by these highway engineers. * near

, kilometre trench 23 * near

Kál Kál is a large village in Heves County, Hungary. As of 2015, it has a population of 3,519, and 3,359 as of the 2021 estimate. History The earliest written record of the village dates back to 1331, and was already inhabited before the Hungarian ...

, kilometre trench 103 * near Emőd, kilometre trench 151 * near

Hajdúnánás Hajdúnánás is a town in Hajdú-Bihar County, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and has a population of 17,172 people (2015). Racetrack On 21 June 2020, it was confirmed that Hungary will bui ...

, kilometre trench 204 * near

Újfehértó Újfehértó (Yiddish, german: Ratzfert) is a small town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. History By 1920, the Jewish population had reached 1,303 people, 11% of the total population. On 1 ...

, kilometre trench 254

Payment

Hungarian system has 2 main type in terms of salary: 1, ''time-based fee'' vignettes (E-matrica); with a validity of either 10 days (3500 HUF), 1 month (4780 HUF) or 1 year (42980 HUF). 2, ''county'' vignettes (Megyei matrica); the highway can be used instead of the national sticker with the following county stickers: :

Significant artifacts

From Budapest to the Ukrainian border, the M3 motorway features the following

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

s or covered cuts:
; Bridge * Tisza Bridge of Polgár (; ) over

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

river ; Landscape history memorial park * M3 Arcehopark – Open-air museum near this motorway ; Outlet center * M3 Outlet Center

European Route(s)

References

External links

National Toll Payment Services Plc.
(in Hungarian, some information also in English)
Hungarian Public Road Non-Profit Ltd. (Magyar Közút Nonprofit Zrt.)

National Infrastructure Developer Ltd.
{{DEFAULTSORT:M3 Motorway (Hungary) 3