Road signs may come down - The opening of the renovated 441 is approaching

Several project elements of the renovation and reconstruction of the 441 main road connecting Nagykőrös and Kecskemét are at a high level of readiness, according to information obtained by our portal. The staff of Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium, which is implementing the development project, Colas Út Zrt. are working to increase traffic safety and reduce travel time between Cegléd, Nagykőrös and Kecskemét. Due to major investments in Kecskemét, traffic on the dilapidated main road has increased significantly as a result of commuters from nearby towns.

A project to increase both capacity and road safety

In order to meet the traffic demand, a section of the 441 main road will be widened to 2×2 lanes.
In addition, the project includes a ten-kilometre stretch of road:

• two new roundabouts,
• six signalized intersections,
• 11 road connections,
• a pedestrian crossing with traffic lights,
• bicycle service road and
• five pairs of bus bays will also be created.

Three phases of the works are almost complete

Since the arrival of the construction machinery in early February 2022, our portal has reported several times on the complex tasks involved in the project. The work is being carried out in five phases, each of which involves the replacement, relocation and reconstruction of public utilities.
Csaba Szabó, construction manager of Colas, provided information on the current status of the project.
The works on the section of road affected in Pest County are nearing their final phase. Here, apart from the section between km 17+265 and 18+205, where 11.5 tonnes of pavement reinforcement was carried out, a completely new road structure was built from ground level after soil stabilisation.

Of the two roundabouts being built in Nagykőrös, the roundabout on Téglagyár út is almost complete. The roundabout at the junction of the main road 441 and the road 4614 is also nearing completion. They are also close to 100 per cent completion of the section from the M44 to the county border.

On this five-kilometre stretch of the main road, the contractor will also build eight road junctions and three pairs of bus stops.

Traffic restrictions may be lifted from summer

Csaba Szabó said that the construction of the main road section from the county border to Katonatelep in Bács County has reached 75% completion.
The reconstruction of the main road is being carried out with localised road structure replacements in some places. In this case, the affected road section will be excavated to a depth of seven centimetres and then rebuilt with a retaining wall.
The main road will be widened to 2×2 lanes on a 2.79 km stretch from the northern bypass of 445 in Kecskemét to the Mathiász Primary School in the Katonatelep. Service roads and cycle paths will also be built along the entire length of the road.

30,600 cubic metres of material were used for the road base for the new lanes of the main road.

On the stretch from the Military Depot to the terminus, signalised intersections will be built at the six intersecting streets. There will also be a pedestrian crossing with traffic lights, five pairs of bus stops and three road junctions.

The architect said,

The four-lane section of the main road 441 between Nagykőrös and Kecskemét, including the four-lane section at Katonatelep, will be open to traffic without traffic restrictions after the road is opened to traffic, probably in the summer of 2024.

A process rarely used in our country has been used to recycle asphalt

The total project will use 56,820 tonnes of asphalt, which will be delivered to the site from the asphalt mixing plant Colas in kiskunfélegyháza and dunaharaszti.
On the road section in Pest vármegye, the Colas specialists used the cold remix process. The technology, which is rarely used in Hungary, is based on the fact that the asphalt recovered from the worn-out road structure, which is still usable, is mixed with binder and water and reconstructed during the construction of the cementitious remix base layer, and then the new asphalt road structure is laid on top of it.

The works are carried out while maintaining two-way traffic

The construction phases of each section will be carried out without closure, while ensuring the continuity of two-way traffic. Csaba Szabó said that the coordination of the different work processes is a serious professional challenge.
One of the interesting features of the project is that temporary diversion roads and service roads have been created for the construction of the suburban sections of the 441 in Pest County, to ensure the passage of traffic on 2×1 lanes during the reconstruction of the track.
The project has not only benefited the local community, as archaeological excavations have revealed a remarkable archaeological heritage. The experts identified the remains of seven Sarmatian settlements, mostly dating from the 3rd to 4th centuries, a Bronze Age settlement and a Scythian cemetery.

New element added to the development

The originally planned elements of the project will be completed in the second half of 2024. A new element of the project will be the capacity-enhancing conversion of the roundabout junction of roads 441-445 into a turbo roundabout. This is expected to be completed by the end of this year by Colas specialists.