Transfagarasan high road to be opened as of June 18

National Road 7C, also known as Transfagarasan high road will re-open for traffic, earlier than in the previous years. The National Company for Roads and Motorways decided to re-open the traffic on June 18, determined by the favorable weather conditions.

According to the regulation, Transfagarasan closing period (November 1-June 30) can be shifted depending on the weather conditions and the state of the road.

Traffic on Transfagarasan high road has been closed down between Piscu Negru and Balea Cascada Chalet, last year on November 2, due to the risks of rocks falling down and landslides in the area.

Transalpina alpine road was also closed between Ranca and Curpat until March 31.

Transfagarasan or DN7C is a mountain paved road crossing the southern section of the Carpathians Mountains. It has national-road ranking and it is the second-highest paved road in Romania after Transalpina. The road starts near the village of Bascov, located near the city of Pitesti, ending on the crossroad between DN1 and Sibiu.

Also known as Ceausescu’s Folly, it was built as a strategic military route that stretches 90 km with twists and turns that run north to south across the tallest sections of the Southern Carpathians, between the highest peaks in the country, Moldoveanu, and the second highest, Negoiu. The road connects the historic regions of Transylvania and Wallachia and the cities of Sibiu and Pitesti.

The Transfagarasan was constructed between 1970 and 1974, during Nicolae Ceausescu’s communist rule as a response to the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union.

Built mainly by military forces, the road had both a high financial and human cost. Work was carried out in an alpine climate, at an elevation of 2000 meters, using junior military personnel who were untrained in blasting techniques. Many non-commissioned officers (NCOs), foremen, and soldiers died due to hazardous working conditions. Roughly six million kilograms of dynamite were used on the northern face, and official records state that about 40 soldiers lost their lives in building accidents.

The Transalpina or DN67C located in the Parang Mountains is one of the highest roads of the Carpathians, linking Novaci, south of Parang, to Sebes in the north.

The road is said to have been built under King Carol II during the WWII by German troops and that’s why locals used to call it The King’s Road. A legend says that communist dictator Ceausescu had Transfagarasan Road built just to outrank Transalpina.