Romania ignores construction of expressways, despite 50% lower costs compared with a motorway

The Transport and Infrastructure Ministry has set the construction of the Pan-European Transport Corridor IV as a priority for the coming years, completely forgetting about expressways, which can be built at a cost per kilometre that is 55-60% of that of a motorway.
The expressway is a four-lane road, where the lane direction can be reversed to balance the traffic load, while a motorway entails at least two-lanes per way, emergency lanes, as well as clear markings separating the two sets of lanes in the middle.
Romania had only 382 kilometres of expressways at the end of 2009, according to ZF’s information, while Poland for instance has 718 kilometres of expressways with 570 kilometres more in various stages of construction, according to the information available on the website of the Infrastructure Ministry in Warsaw.
Expressways are not on the priority list of the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry for the next few years, either, even though plans were made for them at least on paper.