Romania to close A1 motorway between Cisnădie and Boița for 11 weeks of junction construction
Starting 5 October 2026, traffic on the A1 between Sibiu and Boița will be diverted onto DN7 and DN1 until 19 December as Turkish builder Mapa-Cengiz constructs a cantilever overpass for the A13 junction.
Motorway closure and operational timeline
Romania's National Company for Road Infrastructure Administration (CNAIR) will close all traffic on the A1 motorway between the Cisnădie and Boița junctions beginning on 5 October 2026. The full suspension of traffic affects Lot 1 of the Sibiu-Pitești motorway project, halting transit across the section connecting Sibiu to Boița. CNAIR officially announced the measure on Friday, 2 October 2026, setting the restriction period to run through 19 December 2026. This timetable imposes an 11-week interruption spanning over two months on one of the most heavily travelled routes in Transylvania ahead of the winter holiday season. Official project terms define an initial 90-day shutdown period for Lot 1, with administrative provisions allowing an extension of up to one year if engineering requirements necessitate additional time.
- CNAIR announces the full traffic closure of the A1 motorway between Cisnădie and Boița
- A1 motorway closure begins as Mapa-Cengiz starts overpass construction at Boița
- Scheduled conclusion of the 11-week motorway closure period
Technical requirements and safety measures
The traffic shutdown is required to allow the Turkish construction consortium Mapa-Cengiz to advance building operations on Section 2 of the Sibiu-Pitești motorway between Boița and Cornetu. Construction crews will build a viaduct overpass above the slip road that currently channels vehicle traffic off the A1 motorway and directly onto the DN7 national road. The project uses the balanced cantilever construction method, which requires suspending a large movable metal formwork directly over the active roadway. Transport authorities determined that suspended heavy machinery in motion above open traffic lanes created severe accident risks that could not be mitigated while keeping the route operational.
CNAIR confirmed the safety rationale behind the complete stoppage:
Under these conditions traffic on the A1 between the Cisnădie and Boița junctions must be halted so that the works do not endanger road users.
Boița junction and future motorway links
The elevated structure forms a central part of the future Boița road junction, which is engineered to establish a direct link between the A1 motorway and the planned A13 motorway. The infrastructure will integrate Section 2 of the Sibiu-Pitești highway with the broader regional network once the mountain crossing and junction ramps reach completion.
CNAIR detailed the structural purpose of the viaduct in its formal project announcement:
This overpass is part of the road junction that will provide the connection between A13 and A1, in the area of Boița.
Engineering crews will focus on completing the cantilever spans across the interchange zone during the 11-week window to permit eventual reopening of the underlying carriageway.
Traffic diversions across national routes
During the closure from 5 October to 19 December 2026, all motorway traffic will be redirected onto surrounding national roads under an approved regional traffic management scheme. Drivers travelling through the corridor will be diverted onto national road DN7 along the segment connecting the localities of Boița, Tălmaciu, and Veștem. To continue toward Cisnădie and the municipality of Sibiu, vehicles will transition onto national road DN1 from Veștem. The diversion transfers heavy freight and passenger traffic back onto secondary two-lane roads, creating anticipated queues along the Olt Valley corridor during peak transit hours.
