VIDEO: This is what the works look like at the first tunnel built for the Romanian highway. The Nagyszeben-Pitesti highway will contain a total of 8 tunnels.

Specialists from fourteen countries are working on the realization of Romania's first tunnel built on a highway. Digi24 visited the construction site and filmed spectacular works near Curtea de Argeș. Builders have already drilled 70% of the length of the tunnels and expect to break ground early next year on the hill they will run under. Once completed, the tunnel will be 1.3 kilometers long. During the future construction of Romania's highways, more and more such complex works are expected. Seven more tunnels are being built on the Sibiu-Pitești highway alone, the largest at Poiana. At Curtea de Argeș, an Austrian construction company is diligently digging along the two galleries that will be Romania's first highway tunnels.

They first started work on the Daniela gallery sometime last fall. Cristina Sbîrn, Digi24 journalist: Currently, approximately 950 meters have been excavated. There are still about 400 meters left to break through the hill. According to the builder, this will happen sometime at the beginning of next year, in the spring. In the other gallery, called Aliná, 830 meters were excavated. Each gallery is more than 1.3 kilometers long and will be equipped with two traffic lanes and an emergency barrier. Because the soil that forms the Momaia hill is soft, the contractors use modern technology that supports the soil with quick-drying concrete spray as the excavation progresses. Marco Wieser, representative of the construction company: "You can't blow it up, because the geology of the soil is too soft. The hill has to be supported with an 'umbrella', and then you can dig under it." The work takes place on site for seven days. Specialists from fourteen countries were brought to build the tunnel. In addition to the tunnel, the Austrians are also building more than 2.5 kilometers of bridges and overpasses, one of them with a height of 30 meters, which is equivalent to a 10-story building. The 10 kilometers between Curtea de Argeș and Tigveni, as part of the Sibiu-Pitești highway, should be completed by February 2027. The officials are confident that they will be able to finish it before the deadline.

Fernando Lopez, project manager: "We have passed the 50% mark. We are doing well. Everyone is asking: shall we finish first? I am optimistic." 650 workers are working on the highway, including many local residents, who are happy that the Sibiu-Pitești highway, which has been promised for 30 years, is finally coming to fruition. -"My cousin and I did the highway feasibility study four times...he poor thing died...he said: I'm going to die and I can't drive on it." The entire Sibiu-Pitești highway will be 122 kilometers long. The 13 kilometers between Sibiu and Boița have been open for traffic since the end of 2022. Another 30 kilometers between Curtea de Argeș and Pitești is under construction and should be ready by next year. Another 69 kilometers are currently planned. The entire highway will be completed by 2028 and will have eight tunnels.