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M4 motorway (Hungary)

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M4 motorway shield
M4 motorway
M4-es autópálya
Map key - blue in use Map key - lightblue under construction Map key - grey planned
Route information
Part of E60 / E79
Length101 km (63 mi)
223 km (139 mi) planned
Major junctions
From M0 in Budapest
Major intersections M8 near Szolnok
M35 near Berettyóújfalu
To A 3 at Nagykereki
Location
CountryHungary
CountiesPest, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Hajdú-Bihar
Major citiesBudapest, Szolnok, Püspökladány
Highway system
  • Roads in Hungary

M4 is a Hungarian expressway (constructed to motorway standards on its final section before reaching the border) which will, upon completion, connect Budapest to Oradea and further Romanian cities. The route will travel in Hungary through Cegléd, Szolnok, Karcag, Püspökladány, Berettyóújfalu, and Nagykereki before reaching the Romanian border.

History, finished sections and future plans

The road's origins can be traced much further back in time - as far back as 1974, when the first section of the future motorway was opened. This section, from Albertirsa to Cegléd, served to bypass the older, congested Route 40, that passed through these towns. This was extended in 2005 to bypass Abony and Szolnok. The same year, the Törökszentmiklós bypass opened. On 6 July 2011, a bypass also opened at Kisújszállás. Most of these sections were only 1 lane per direction.

The 10 km long Vecsés-Üllő bypass opened in 2004, completed up to expressway standards. The section also helped ease accessing the Liszt Ferenc International Airport. However, this had left a gap between Albertirsa and Üllő, and the old road going through Monor soon became a bottleneck. The missing 29 kilometer long section of M4 was completed on February 7, 2020.

The section going south of Szolnok was found to be unsuitable to upgrade to motorway status, so on 16 September 2013, a contract was signed regarding the new route of the motorway. This route would go northwards of Szolnok, crossing the Tisza rivers, and shortening the route of the motorway. Construction contract was awarded to Strabag, with the estimated costs reaching 100 billion Hungarian Forints. Since the motorway passes through an environmental area, protective fencing was to be installed on the new sections from Üllő towards Törökszentmiklós. Whilst this section was supposed to open by 2016, construction work was stopped on 30 June 2015, to investigate the companies who were building the road. Apparently, the project was submitted to the EU to be supported in 2013, but it never received approval. Another issue was the huge cost of the route - 4 Billion HUF per kilometer. The work on this section restarted in 2018, and it opened to traffic in 2022.

A 4 kilometer stretch of M4, near Berettyóújfalu, was inaugurated on December 20, 2018. This section serves to link the M35 motorway to Route 47.[1]

The M4 as seen heading towards the Romanian border, near Derecske, 27 December 2018

In 2019, a section near Cegléd section was upgraded to a dual carriageway, but it only reached expressway status after the connecting section between Cegléd and Abony was completed in the summer of 2020.

Works at the other end of the planned motorway started in 2016, specifically on the Berettyóújfalu-Nagykereki section, which would connect to the Romanian A3 motorway, towards Oradea, Cluj, Târgu Mureș and Bucharest. However, just like the work on the A3 motorway in Romania, construction temporarily stopped due to funding issues. In 2018, Hungary received up to 265 million Euros from the EU Cohesion Funds specifically to complete this section of M4. It was opened on September 4, 2020.

The M0-M4 interchange seen from the air, 20 June 2006. Notice the then-under construction section of the M0.

Preparatory work has started for the Törökszentmiklós-Kisújszállás-Karcag-Püspökladány-Berettyóújfalu section. This section envisaged an interchange with the M8 motorway, but the procurement procedure was abolished on 26 February 2014, leaving work halted on this section.


Junctions, exits and rest areas

Distance from the Zero Kilometre Stone (Adam Clark Square) in Budapest in kilometres.

  • The section between Budapest and Berettyóújfalu is expressway. The maximum speed limit is 110 km/h, with (2x2 lanes).
  • The section between Berettyóújfalu and Nagykereki is motorway. The maximum speed limit is 130 km/h, with (2x2 lanes and stop lane).
km Destinations Route Notes
18 Exit Budapest Connection to Budapest
Introductory path of M4
19 Exit Vecsés-nyugat 4 Western connection to Vecsés
21 Exit Budapest International Airport
24 Exit Vecsés-kelet, Ecser 3101 Eastern connection to Vecsés
Interchange M4-M0 interchange
(Budapest bypass) 		M0 / E60 Connection to Győr, Székesfehérvár, Pécs, Szeged and Nyíregyháza, Vác.
The western terminus of European route E60
30 Exit Üllő, Gyömrő 3124
35 Exit Monor-nyugat, Péteri 3111 Western connection to Monor
41 Exit Monor-kelet, Gomba 3112 Eastern connection to Monor
49 Exit Pilis, Monorierdő, Káva 4606
52 Rest area Gerje rest area
56 Exit Albertirsa, Dabas 405 Also serves as a connecting road to M5 / E75
63 Exit Ceglédbercel 46124
66 Exit Cegléd-Öregszőlő Connection to the Aquapark of Cegléd
69 Rest area Ceglédi rest area MOL / MOL +
Exit Cegléd, Tápiószentmárton 3116
70 Exit Cegléd, Tápiószele 311
77 Exit Abony-nyugat 401 Western connection to Abony
85 Rest area Abonyi rest area
89 Exit Abony-észak, Újszász Northern connection to Abony
94 Exit Abony-kelet, Szolnok-nyugat 406 Eastern connection to Abony
Western connection to Szolnok
Interchange M4-M8 interchange M8 Connection to the M8 motorway, towards Kecskemét.
99 Exit Szolnok-észak, Jászberény 32 Northern connection to Szolnok
101 Bridge Zagyva (Bridge)
106 Exit Szolnok-kelet, Besenyszög Eastern connection to Szolnok
112 Bridge Tisza (Bridge)
115 Rest area Rest area
117 Exit Törökszentmiklós-nyugat, Szajol 4 Western connection to Törökszentmiklós
125 Exit Törökszentmiklós-kelet 4 Eastern connection to Törökszentmiklós
133 Exit Fegyvernek, Örményes
145 Exit Kisújszállás-nyugat, Kenderes 4 Western connection to Kisújszállás
154 Exit Kisújszállás-kelet 4 Eastern connection to Kisújszállás
160 Rest area Rest area
165 Exit Karcag, Füzesgyarmat
180 Exit
Rest area 		Püspökladány, Báránd
Püspökladányi rest area 		42
190 Exit Kaba
197 Rest area Rest area
202 Exit Hajdúszovát, Földes
208 Rest area Rest area
210 Interchange M4-M35 interchange M35 / E79 Connection to the M35 motorway, towards Debrecen.
The western terminus of European route E79 and of the motorway section.
The eastern terminus of the expressway section.
215 Exit Berettyóújfalu, Derecske 47
220 Rest area Körtvélyes rest area
226 Exit Gáborján, Váncsod 4815
230 Rest area Kengyeles rest area
237 Exit Nagykereki, Pocsaj, Biharkeresztes 4808
242 Border control Nagykereki (H) – Borș II (RO) border crossing
A 3 / E60 / E79 → to Oradea, Romania Romania
  •   Under construction
  •   Planned section

References

  1. ^ "Kész az M35-ös vége és az M4-es "eleje"".
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