East–West Motorway (Romania)

The A8 motorway (Autostrada A8), also known as The Union Motorway (Autostrada Unirii ) or the East-West Motorway (Autostrada Est-Vest ) is a planned motorway in Romania, that will cross the Eastern Carpathians to connect the historical regions of Moldavia and Transylvania. It will directly link the cities of Iași and Târgu Mureș. The A8 motorway route is an integral part of the Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) Core Network.

As of May 2024, two sections are under design and construction, two are tendered, while other sections of the motorway are in various stages of planning.

History
Early plans estimated the first opening as early as 2009. With a total length of around 304 km, and an estimated cost of 4.07 billion €, the motorway will begin from the junction with the A3 motorway near Târgu Mureș, and will run through Sovata, Ditrău, Târgu Neamț, Pașcani, Târgu Frumos and Iași. At its eastern end, the motorway will cross the Prut river at Ungheni to reach Moldova's R1 highway, which further heads east towards Chișinău.

The A8 motorway is divided into five segments: Târgu Mureș – Ditrău segment of 92.1 km, Ditrău – junction with DN2 segment of 118.8 km, DN2 – Iași segment of 61.3 km, Iași Nord bypass segment of 17 km, and Iași – Ungheni border segment (TBD).

Pre-feasibility studies performed in 2007 were followed by feasibility studies in 2009–2011. As of February 2015, the feasibility study revision and update is being conducted by private contractors. The auction for the execution of the Târgu Mureș - Târgu Neamț segment were expected to be launched in 2021.

Sections
The tenders for two sections (Section 1 - 22 km: Târgu Mureș - Miercurea Nirajului, and Section 3 - 29.91 km: Leghin – Târgu Neamț) were set to be submitted by 27 February 2023 and 28 February 2023 respectively. On 20 September 2023, the contract for the design and execution of the Leghin – Târgu Neamț section (between Vânători-Neamț and Boureni (junction with DN2)) was signed with the SA&PE Construct-Spedition UMB-Tehnostrade association. In February 2024, the contract for the design and execution of the Târgu Mureș - Miercurea Nirajului section was signed with Nurol. The duration of the contracts are 30 months long, 6 months for planning and 24 months for the execution.

The tender for the design and execution of section 1b Miercurea Nirajului - Sărățeni (23.4 km) was to be submitted by 22 May 2024, and by 25 June 2024 for the Pipirig – Leghin section (19.3 km).