Transfagarasan

Transfagarasan is a traffic road in Romania, which starts in

Bascov commune, Argeș county near the city of Pitesti, in the
direction of the city of Curtea de Argeș and ends at the
intersection with the DN1 road between Sibiu and Brașov, near
the commune of Cârțișoara, with a length of 151 km, crossing
the Făgăraș Mountains on the north-south axis. The section from
the Vidraru dam to Cârțișoara crosses mountainous terrain at
high altitudes and was built in the period 1970–1974, with a
length of approximately 91 km. Until the construction of the
Vidraru dam and reservoir, in 1965, along which the DN7C runs
for almost 20 km, there was a dirt road and a dirt road that
connected the Căpățâneni commune to the old Cumpăna village
today covered by water , near which the current Cumpăna cabin
was built
 wc

connects Muntenia with Transylvania, crossing the Făgăraş Mountains, the highest in Romania, which are part of the
Southern Carpathians. It is an asphalted road, reaching near the tunnel near Bâlea Lake at an altitude of 2042 m.
Thus, the Transfăgărășanul ranks second in altitude in the ranking of alpine roads in Romania, after the Transalpina
in the Parâng Mountains, which climbs up to 2145 m
The road starts from the commune of Brasov near Pitesti and goes up the Argeș river valley, passing
through the town of Curtea de Argeș. North of the city, the road passes in front of the Vidraru hydropower
plant, located in the Cetătuia massif. From here, near the Poenari fortress, the road climbs on serpentines
and viaducts, passing through three shorter tunnels, and reaches the Vidraru Dam, which, with its 307 m,
connects the Pleașa and Vidraru Mountains. Passing the dam, the road continues on the left side of Lake
Vidraru to its tail. Next, the road begins to climb following the course of the Capra river valley until
reaching the alpine gap, near the Capra Cabana; after a series of serpentines, passing by the Capra
Waterfall, it reaches the southern entrance of the Capra-Bâlea tunnel, which passes under the crest of the
Făgăraș Mountains, between the peaks of Iezerul Caprei (2414 m) and Paltinul (2398 m). This tunnel is
the longest road tunnel in Romania, having a length of 887 m, with a height of 4.4 m, a width of 6 m and
a sidewalk with a width of 1 m, being electrically lit and ventilated naturally.
In the northern part of the road, the Transfăgărășanul passes through the natural reserve Golul Alpin al
Muntilor Făgăraș between Podragu - Suru and Valea Bâlii, next to the glacial lake Bâlea, after which there

.
is a steep descent in serpentines, crossing the glacial caldera, for a length of 13 km.Then, the road passes
near the Bâlea waterfall, a cascading waterfall of approximately 68 m, the largest of its kind in Romania,
located at an altitude of approximately 1230 m.a.s.l., then reaching the Bâlea Cascada Hut. From there to
the intersection with DN1 (European road E68), near the commune of Cârtisoara, there are 21 km.
Transfăgărășan passes over 830 footbridges and 27 viaducts, for its construction it is necessary to dislodge
several million tons of rock; for this, 6,520 tons of dynamite were used, of which 20 tons only in the
Capra-Bâlea tunnel, as well as many other construction materials
Transfăgărășanul was built between 1970 and 1974, at the initiative of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Although at that
time Romania already had several crossings of the Southern Carpathians inherited from before the communist

.
period (the Novaci-Săliște Alpine Road or the old Câmpina-Predeal Road) or made in the first years of the
regime (the Bumbești Jiu-Petroșani road), the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 by the Soviet troops and
the ease with which the existing crossings between Transylvania and Muntenia could be blocked or attacked
(which, with one exception, followed the course of some rivers) determined the emergency initiation of the
"Transfăgărășanului" project - a strategic road that would connect the garrisons of Pitești and Sibiu. In the
supporting notes of the project, it is also mentioned as reasons "the opening of the forest basins in the Făgăraş
massif, the more rational use of the alpine pastures and the creation of a mountain tourist center in the area of ​
Lake Bâlea"
•
Among the initial proposals was that of a tunnel of approx. 7 km,

.
which would have avoided the alpine gap area, starting from the
Bâlea-Cascadă cabin area, passing under the Bâlea Glacial
Caldera and the Făgăraș ridge, and exiting in the Piscul Negru
area; this would have allowed the road to be kept open all year
round. Due to the high costs, as well as the difficulties of
realization, this proposal was abandoned out of hand. Through
a decision of the Council of Ministers of December 10, 196 the
technical-economic indicators for the "Transfagărășan strategic
objective" are approved, to which the resources of the genius
troops of the Romanian Army are allocated (on March 10, 1970
the 52nd Alba Regiment -Iulia starts working from the north, and
the 1st Râmnicu-Vâlcea Regiment from the south, in the high
mountain areas, the tunnel parts to be made by the specialists
of the Hydropower Construction Trust (TCH) The Contur Lac
Vidraru sector was assigned to the Ministry of Transport, the
project being executed by the Design Institute for Road, Naval
and Air Transport (IPTANA) and built by the Bucuresti Road
Construction Company, and the Contur Lac - Bâlea Tunnel
sector was assigned Ministry of Forest Economy, the project
being executed by the Institute for Research and Design in the
Wood Industry (ICPIL) and the construction delegated to the
Forest Construction Company (ICF) Râmnicu Vâlcea
Work was done throughout the year, the conditions being made difficult by the fact that the alpine
climate at over 1,600 meters altitude - with strong winds and abundant blizzards, to which was added

.
the specificity of the Făgăraș Mountains - normally only allowed for 4-5 months of work per year].
The road was made with considerable material efforts and at the cost of the lives of soldiers and
workers who contributed to its construction the official toll being 40 dead. Workers from that time
who are still alive today put forward higher figures, reaching up to several hundred human lives lost
(responding to an interview, a witness of the time said: "Only at the dam about 400 boys died"). The
official inauguration, in the presence of Nicolae Ceaușescu, took place on September 20, 1974, but
the works continued for several more years, for its asphalting and other related activities, being
completed in its current form in 1980