Highlights

The M6 project comprises 58 kilometers of motorway from Budapest along the line of the Danube to the steel city of Dunaujvaros. Construction involved shifting over twelve million cubic meters of earth, equal to over a million truck loads that had to be moved from A to B. With logistics achievements such as this, construction took less than two years, and the road has been open to traffic since June 2006 – despite snowstorms in the winter and floods along the Danube in the springtime. At long last, trucks are no longer compelled to crawl at walking pace along the potholed N6 trunk road that runs roughly parallel to the new motorway. The old road was buckling beneath the weight of heavy vehicles backed up both to and from Budapest. Construction of the motorway was also vital for South Korean company Hankook,which intends to establish its largest tire factory in Europe on the outskirts of Dunaujvaros. “The new highway is triggering an economic upswing in this region,” says Speer. Companies that supply the tire plant are also likely to locate along the route, and the journey southward from Ferihegy Airport south east of Budapest is now much faster, both in the summer and winter seasons.

An example for other countries to follow

Meanwhile on this December night, around 2:00 a.m., István Fricska‘s premonition proves right. The rain deteriorates into a heavy snowfall. Around here in winter the mercury can fall to below minus 15 degrees centigrade. Fricska’s team is well equipped to deal with this extreme weather: Ten trucks stand ready with snow plows and the depot has 2,800 tons of sodium chloride and another 25 tons of calcium chloride in store. Keeping the road clear in winter requires vigilance 24 hours a day, with a constant eye trained on the weather forecast. Right now for the eight men in the restroom at the O&M that means getting up, changing clothes and warming up the heavy yellow gritters. They then switch on the warning beacons, open the gates and are on their way. In 20 minutes they’re all on the road. Half the vehicles head south, the others north.