Transalpina (DN67C)

The Transalpina or DN67C[1] is a 148 km national road located in the Parâng Mountains group, Southern Carpathians of Romania, is one of the highest roads of the Carpathian Mountains. It connects Novaci, south of Parâng Mountains, to Sebeș in the north.[2][3] It is the highest road in Romania, having the highest point in Urdele Pass (at 2,145 m). Transalpina traverses four counties – Gorj, Vâlcea, Sibiu, Alba – crossing the Parâng Mountains from south to north. The highest altitude is reached on a segment of about 20 km (12 mi), in Vâlcea County, passing a short distance from the peaks of Dengheru (2,084 m), Păpușa (2,136 m), Urdele (2,228 m), Iezer (2,157 m), and Muntinu (2,062 m).[3][4][5]

National Road 67C
Drumul Național 67C
Transalpina
Route information
Maintained by Compania Națională de Autostrăzi și Drumuri Naționale din România
Length148 km (92 mi)
Major junctions
FromNovaci
ToSebeş
Location
Major citiesNovaci, Sebeş
Highway system
National roads in Romania

Transalpina is a Latin name, used in old Latin texts of Țara Românească, meaning "the country beyond the mountains".[3][6]

Being a high altitude mountain road it is closed during the winter, it stays open from mid May to mid October (depending on the weather) and only during daytime (08:00-20:00).[2][7][8][9]

History

The beginnings of this road are unclear, some sources claim that it was first built by the Roman legions during the wars with the Dacians, which is why it is listed on the history maps as the "Roman strategic corridor IV".[1][10][11][12]

A local legend says that at the end of the 18th century, beginning of 19th century, each family participated in the construction of a part of this road, depending on physical and financial possibilities.[13][14][11]

According to other sources the road was rebuilt and paved by the Germans during World War I, for military reasons, but it was very little used.[12][13][14][15]

What is certain is that this route, known as Poteca Dracului (Devil's Path),[13][14][16] was originally a mountain path, used by shepherds from the Mărginimea Sibiului to cross the mountains with sheep herds in Țara Românească (Wallachia).[13][14][15]

In his work, Istoria Olteniei supt austriaci (1718-1739), Constantin C. Giurescu shows that as early as 1731 the Austrian authorities proposed the construction of a Transcarpathian road on the path of the old transhumance route linking Transylvania with Oltenia.

Given the lessons of the First World War, King Carol II wanted that the Romanian Land Forces would have a strategic road for mountain artillery, pulled by horses, which could be traversed by troops moving between Wallachia and Transylvania.[11][14] In order to establish a route for the road, Prime Minister Gheorghe Tătărescu went on the mountain from Novaci to Lotru, accompanied by 20 horsemen from Novaci and led by the teacher Ion D. Giurgiulan. Following this, Tătărăscu inaugurated the road construction works on the Novaciului plateau.[17] The restoration works decided took place between 1934-1939, King Carol II attended the inauguration of the road in 1939, accompanied by the future King Michael I, as well as Tătărăscu and his wife Arethia.[17] They traveled the entire route in an off-road vehicle.[16] After inauguration, the road was known as Drumul Regal (Royal Road) or Drumul Regelui (King's Road), which replaced the popular name of Poteca Dracului (Devil's Path).[13][14][17]

The road was rehabilitated once more during World War II, as the Germans needed access to this road for military reasons.[11][18] After that, for more than 70 years, the road received little to no maintenance.[6][18]

Also a story has it that Nicolae Ceaușescu had the Transfăgărășan Road (DN7C) built during the communist regime just to surpass Transalpina.

Improvement works began in 2008-2009 in order to transform this spectacular road into a modern single carriageway (148 km), for the high price of 385 millions EUR, the job was given to Nelu Iordache Romstrade, most of the total work and money (67%) was given to this company.[18][19] There were no economic or traffic justification for spending such a large amount (2.6 millions per km) as the road is of limited use (maximum of 6 month's a year) because of high altitude weather and there was already a national road (DN7A) crossing the area that could be used 12 month's a year (DN7A is at a lower altitude on a SE-NW axis) that needed only 10% of the amount spent on Transalpina to be improved.[12][20] There is also evidence of corruption, one of the names involved is Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, then (2007-2008) Minister of Transport, and Varujan Vosganian, among many others.[12][19][20][21][22]

Currently the road is "work in progress", with 80% of total construction work being done and 99% of the road has the first asphalt concrete layer.[6]

Transalpina, mostly used by tourists, has speed (maximum 30 km/h) and weight (maximum 7.5 tone) restrictions, it takes a minimum of 3 hours to cross from one end to another.[3][6]

Rânca, a newly developed resort, is located towards the south end of the Transalpina road.

See also

References
  1. "Transalpina, "drumul regelui"". Adevarul. 5 August 2007.
  2. "Transalpina se redeschide de azi, pe unul dintre cele mai spectaculoase tronsoane ale sale". Brasovmetropolitan.ro. 23 May 2020.
  3. "Harta Transalpina". Transalpina.biz. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  4. "Transalpina, drumul ce leagă Oltenia de Ardeal". Gazeta de Sud. 13 October 2008.
  5. "Cehii s-au îndrăgostit de Transalpina". Gazeta de Sud. 23 June 2020.
  6. "Translapina - Drumul Regelui. Un drum prin nori de-aproape 2000 de ani". Transalpina.biz. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  7. "Info util Transalpina". Transalpina.biz. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  8. "Circulația pe Transalpina, DN 67C, a fost redeschisă". EVmarket.ro. 24 May 2020.
  9. "CNAIR redeschide începând de sâmbătă dimineață circulația pe Transalpina". ECONOMICA.net. May 2020.
  10. "Drumul uitat". Jurnalul.ro. 16 Oct 2007.
  11. "Transalpina - DN76c". Welcometoromania.ro. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  12. "Cum s-a făcut Transalpina, șoseaua inutilă de 300 de milioane de euro. "Era la o regională, puteau să o gestioneze palmat"". ProTV. 5 Jun 2015.
  13. "Curiozități despre Transalpina, drumul pe care să-l vezi în România". PLAYTECH.ro. 14 March 2018.
  14. "Transalpina: From the Devil's Path to the King's Road". Uncover Romania. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  15. "Transfagarasan vs. Transalpina". Romanian Tour Store. 14 September 2017.
  16. "Transalpina the highway in the sky". World Travel Bug. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  17. "Turismul montan". CONSILIUL JUDEȚEAN GORJ.
  18. "FOTOGALERIE VIDEO Transalpina, cea mai înaltă şosea din ţară". Adevarul. 12 August 2011.
  19. "Decizie in dosarul Transalpina. Modernizarea celebrei sosele, platita pana la capat controversatului afacerist Nelu Iordache". Ziuanews.ro. 18 April 2020.
  20. "Transalpina se întoarce: prostie pură sau crimă cu premeditare?". Realitatea. 15 April 2015.
  21. "Transalpina ajunge la DNA. Ludovic Orban și Varujan Vosganian, implicați într-un dosar cu prejudiciu de sute de milioane". Capital.ro. 14 April 2015.
  22. "Tun cu iz penal, dat de Nelu Iordache. Transalpina, un drum pentru care s-au cheltuit 400 de milioane de euro și pe care nu se poate circula". Evenimentul Zilei. 5 July 2015.
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