The Transfăgărășan road, which crosses the Făgăraș mountains and ensures the road connection with the city of Curtea de Argeș, was originally built as a forest road, according to the Decision of the Council of Ministers of December 10, 1969.
During the construction, the transition to a two-lane road, suitable for public traffic, was considered, considering the goals of facilitating communications between the south of the country and the Transylvanian Plateau, the opening of forest basins in the Făgăraş mountains and the efficient use of alpine pastures.
The finality of the project also included the development of a mountain tourist center in the Bâlea lake area, where practicing winter sports is possible approximately 7 months a year. Transfăgărășan, with a length of 90.1 km and a roadway width of 6 m, thus became a significant element in the country's transport infrastructure.
On the northern side of the Făgăraş mountain, the Transfăgărășan route covers a distance of 35.1 km. After approximately 12 km from the intersection with DN 1 and after passing through the village of Cârtisoara, the road reaches the slope of the Bilen stream, following it to the Bâlea waterfall (1234 m). Then, in a wide serpentine of 400 m, it overcomes the level difference, reaching above the waterfall at an altitude of 1500 m. Continuing through the Bila caldera, the road reaches Lake Bilen. The passage into the Argeș basin is made through a tunnel with a length of 882 m, with a double lane (the entrance to Sibiu county is at 2040 m, and the exit to Argeș county is at 2025 m). Upon exiting the tunnel, the road crosses the southern slope of the massif for a distance of 25.6 km. In the first stage, it passes through Caldarea Mioarelor (1910 m), descends to Caldarea Berbecilor (1770 m), reaches the Stâna Caprei Hut (1520 m), passes Piscul Negru (1184 m) and descends along the Capra valley to at the tail of Vidraru lake (835 m).
Next, the road continues on the technical left slope of the lake, for a distance of 28.5 km, and connects to the crest of the Vidraru dam.
The road over the Făgăraș mountains represents a major challenge in terms of road infrastructure in Romania. It is at the highest altitude in the crossing of the Carpathians, and more than 30% of its route crosses the alpine zone. Particularly notable, it is the only road in the country that required the construction of an extended tunnel and special works for avalanche protection.
The tunnel was dug over a period of one and a half years at an altitude of 2040 m. It is the highest structure of this type in the country and among the few in Europe. Its dimensions are 887.67 m, with a section of 41.5 m2, 8 m at the bottom and a height of 6.15 m. To build it, 1,610,000 m3 of rock was relocated. The tunnel was dug in quartzite rocks, whose hardness approaches that of granite.
Work on the tunnel also took place during the winter, despite unfavorable climatic conditions for such construction at such an altitude. The wind reached speeds of 120 km/h, and the few meters between the tunnel and the working cabin were covered in about an hour and a half. Avalanches often uprooted the compressor station, which was discovered later in the spring in the deep valleys. Sometimes the snowdrifts, with a height of more than 6 m, blocked the builders, who had to dig the tunnel through the thick layer of snow.
During the winter of 1973, 180 people were trapped in the "Cauldron of Bâlei" due to a heavy blizzard. To rescue them, two giant bulldozers were brought in, to which ropes were attached. By tying them, people were extracted and transported safely to Bâlea Cascada.
Once the northern slope of the Făgăraș Mountains has been pierced, the road descends to Bâlea Lake, considered the largest glacial lake in this mountain massif. The lake has an area of 4.65 ha and a depth of over 11 m. Located in the upper part of the Bâlea Valley, at an altitude of 2034 m, with a length of 360 m and a width of 200 m, it offers the view of a mirror rarely wrinkled, nestled between the imposing ridges of a great stone mane.
On a rocky tongue that penetrates almost in the middle of the lake is the Bâlea Lac Lodge, offering 150 places to stay and a buffet. In the future, Bâlea Lac will become an important destination for winter sports. In addition to the construction of new accommodation and public catering facilities, the construction of cable cars connecting Bâlea Lac with Şaua Caprei (2315 m altitude) and Şaua Paltinu (2400 m) is also being considered, thus facilitating the access of skiers to the numerous slopes existing in the area.
In 1975, the cable car was inaugurated that allows travelers to move quickly from Bâlea Cascada to Bâlea Lac, covering the distance from 1239 m to 2034 m altitude in just 7 minutes.
Below the Bâlea Cascada is the Meeting Gate.
see mapOn a bronze plate fixed in the rock left behind after the dislocation and placed on the edge of the precipice like a veritable portal, you can see the inscription: "On August 16, 1971, two teams of genius, who were working on the opening of the Transfăgărășan road, s -they met in this location, coming from opposite directions".
The "Meeting Gate" represented the highest level of danger in this mountainous region. Originally, man had only a surface to place his foot on the almost vertical rock. For this reason, in this extremely difficult area, work was carried out from both directions.
In the process of opening the road to Bâlea Cascada, the workers removed 7,500 trees for every linear kilometer, each with a diameter of over 30 centimeters.
During the 4 years of construction, due to the difficult relief and climate conditions, the actual work was carried out in only 30 months; the rest of the period was marked by extreme weather conditions, such as snow present over 220 days a year, thick snow cover of up to 10 meters on the slopes, avalanches, as well as frequent and heavy rains.
The realization of this road of national importance involved the effort of thousands of people, mainly soldiers from the armed forces, engineering units, construction units from various ministries, including the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Economic Forestry and Construction Materials, and the Ministry of Energy Electricians, as well as local workers from Sibiu and Argeș counties.
Source: Tourist itinerary Brașov - Sibiu - Alba Iulia (Ministry of Tourism, 1982)
