The DEx12 expressway (), also known as the Pitești–Craiova Expressway (), is a partially built
expressway in the south-western part of
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, previously labelled as A12, when it was considered as a future motorway. It will connect the cities of
Pitești
Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș (river), Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in th ...
(branching off the
A1 motorway),
Slatina and
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia.
It i ...
(where it is planned to merge with the also planned
A6 motorway), being 121 km long, with an estimated total cost of 1.66 billion euro.
As of 29 November 2024, the
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia.
It i ...
-
Albota
Albota is a commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of five villages: Albota, Cerbu, Frătești, Gura Văii, and Mareș.
The commune is traversed by the road, which connects Pitești to Slatina. The Teleorman River has its ...
segment is in service, totaling .
History
While planned as a motorway, the construction was tendered as a
concession
Concession may refer to:
General
* Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...
contract in March 2013, that should have been awarded until December 2013.
It was also yet to be decided whether it would be built as a motorway or an expressway.
In April 2017, it was suggested for the first time that this road will be an
express road
Express, The Expresss or EXPRESS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn
* '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid
* The Ex ...
and not a motorway. Despite receiving criticism in the media for this switch, the road was tendered in November 2017.
It is split into four sections. The contracts for the sections 1 and 2 were awarded in October 2018 to the Italian company Tirrena Scavi and the Romanian company
Spedition UMB, respectively, while those for the sections 3 and 4 had been signed in September 2020 with the Romanian joint-venture SA&PE Construct-Spedition UMB-Tehnostrade, without waiting for the decisions of the Bucharest Court of Appeal, the bids being challenged by several other participants. Initially, the first tenders for the sections 3 and 4, launched during 2017, had been canceled in August 2018 due to other participants challenging them, being launched again during 2019.
Works on section 3 were allowed to begin in May 2021, but the contract for section 4 was terminated by the Bucharest Court of Appeal, who obliged the CNAIR to review the bids of the
Chinese
Chinese may refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China.
**'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
company
China Railway
China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the China, People's Republic of China.
China Railway operates passenger and freight Rail transport in Chi ...
, of the
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
* Something related to Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire
* The w ...
company Nurol, and of the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
company
Rizzani, all who challenged the winning bid for the said section.
In August 2021, the contract for section 4 was signed again with the same Romanian joint-venture with which the first contract was signed.
Among companies asking for the expressway works to begin as soon as possible was the automaker
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
, who has a car plant in
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia.
It i ...
. Due to this, the expressway is sometimes referred to as the ''Autostrada Ford'' (Ford motorway). In May 2021, the CNAIR submitted a request for the financing of a feasibility study and technical project for what could be a new connecting road between
National Road 6 near the Ford Craiova plant and the DEx12 expressway.
In March 2022, construction works for section 4 began. However, on the 21st December, the contract for section 1, with Tirrena Scavi, was cancelled. The progress for the execution of the section currently sits at 58.26%.
Openings timeline
*21 April 2022:
Slatina -
Balș
Balș () is a town in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. The town administers three villages: Corbeni, Româna, and Teiș.
Geography
The town is situated on the Wallachian Plain and lies on the banks of the river Olteț. It is located in the northwe ...
(16.0 km)
*28 July 2022: the
Slatina bypass (21.3 km)
*23 December 2023:
Slatina -
Colonești (31.88 km)
*28 November 2024:
Colonești -
Albota
Albota is a commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of five villages: Albota, Cerbu, Frătești, Gura Văii, and Mareș.
The commune is traversed by the road, which connects Pitești to Slatina. The Teleorman River has its ...
(20.1 km)
*29 November 2024:
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia.
It i ...
-
Balș
Balș () is a town in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. The town administers three villages: Corbeni, Româna, and Teiș.
Geography
The town is situated on the Wallachian Plain and lies on the banks of the river Olteț. It is located in the northwe ...
(17.7 km)
[ ]
Exit list
See also
*
Roads in Romania
Public roads in Romania are ranked according to importance and traffic as follows:
*motorways (autostradă – pl. autostrăzi) – colour: green; designation: A followed by one or two digits
*expressways (drum – pl. drumuri express) – col ...
*
Transport in Romania
Transportation infrastructure in Romania is the property of the state, and is administered by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Constructions and Tourism, except when operated as a concession, in which case the concessions are mad ...
References
External links
Map of the planned motorway routeCNADNR – Craiova – Pitești
{{DEFAULTSORT:DEx12 expressway
Expressways in Romania