The Transfagarasan Road TheTransfagarasa

n in 1974

• The Transfăgărășan (trans (over, across) + Făgăraș) or DN7C is the second-highest paved road in Romania. • Also known as Ceausescu's Folly it was built as a strategic military route, the

90 km of twists and turns run north to south across the tallest sections of the Southern Carpathians, between the highest peak in the country, Moldoveanu Peak (2544 meters), and the second highest, Negoiu (2535 meters).• The road connects the historic regions of Transylvania and Wallachia, and the

cities of Sibiu and Pitești.

•Northern part of the road, seen from the pass

Same section of the road as above in 2007.

How it was builtTransfagarasan was built between

1970 and 1974.

A brief presentation with numbers might be difficult to follow, but for those who have the patience to read it is worth saying that about 3 million tones of hard rocks were dislocated, 830 transverse works and 290 000 cubic meters of masonry were made for building those 92 kilometers of road.

For building the Capra – Balea Tunnel there were excavated over 41 000 cubic meters of rocks. There were also used 20 tones of dynamite, 3 573 tones of cement, 89 tones of concrete steel, 24 000 of anchors, 129 tones of brazed nets, 14 200 square meters of encasements, 1750 meters of concrete tubes, 4 100 meters of pipes, 50 tones of metal composites, 6 900 cubic meters of grit, 6000 cubic meters of gravel, 3 000 tones of crushed rocks and 740 lighting lamps.

Some of those who worked at the construction of Transfagarasan, nowadays retired, speak about the sacrifices that were made for the road that leads to the sky.

Before its construction, it was impossible to cross the mountains, not even on horseback. But it is said that once, before becoming president, Nicolae Ceausescu stopped by Arefu village and the idea of a road that passed through the mountains crossed his mind.

During the construction a lot of men lost their lives, like in Vidraru’s case. Unfortunately the documents didn’t keep these numbers. But the survivors say that it is about a hundred of human sacrifices.

It has two traffic lanes of 92 kilometers long. Because of the countless turns, the average speed is maximum 40 km per hour.

Along this route there are 27 viaducts and bridges, and the longest road tunnel in Romania – 887 meters, that passes through Paltin Mountains, from Capra to Balea Lake.

The ventilation of the tunnel is made naturally, thanks to the extremely powerful currents. The traffic lane inside the unlighted tunnel is only 6 meters wide and there is a one meter broad pavement.

The landscape is fantastic, and the differences of altitude and the curves represent a challenge for both cars and drivers. Unfortunately, because of the weather conditions, Transfagarasan Road is opened for only a few months every year, usually from July until October.

US publication CarsRoute has declared Romania's Transfagarasan the most beautiful road in the world in a top 15 ranking that anyone should drive on.

In 2009, BBC's Top Gear also named the Transfagarasan Road first among the world's most beautiful.

•The EndAriana Ivanciu, 7th Grade, Dichiseni School

Theme inside of “Five Senses” Comenius Project

Music by Gheorghe Zamfir – the Lonely Shepherd