New road seeks to improve road safety around the city of Ungheni, Moldova
Last month our EASST partners, the Automobile Club of Moldova (ACM) were invited to speak at the opening of a new stretch of road which aims to improve road safety around the city of Ungheni.
The new road will divert at least 400 heavy-duty vehicles daily from the city centre of Ungheni. This will reduce congestion, lower pollution, keep the air cleaner and improve the quality of life for around 35,000 local inhabitants of the city and its surrounds.
Speaking at the launch, Serghei Diaconu of the ACM welcomed the high road safety standards of the new road.
“The EU’s assistance has resulted in quality and safe road infrastructure, which is a way to reduce the number of road traffic collisions and resulting fatalities. However, road safety largely depends on us – the central and local public authorities and most importantly on all traffic participants. It is up to us to make the best of it.”
As part of their visit to Ungheni, the ACM also spent time with the local community helping them to understand the role of the new road and emphasise the importance of keeping safe on the road. The first people to use the new road were a group of local school children on their bicycles, who were given high-visibility vests by the ACM to keep them safe and visible on the road. In order to continue offering support to the local community, the ACM also agreed a plan with the EBRD to return to visit local schools and summer camps to deliver lessons on road safety and the importance of being visible on the road.
The construction of the 7.7 kilometre-long road, which was officially opened on the 31st July by Ambassador Peter Michalko, Head of the European Union Delegation in Moldova and Moldova’s Prime Minister, Pavel Filip, was financed by the EU and is part of a large-scale programme to upgrade and build key roads in the country with various investments and grant funding totalling €670 million from the EU, the EBRD, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the World Bank and the US government foreign aid agency Millennium Challenge Corporation.
