On 1 September, work started on the M1 main line widening. Under the supervision and with the support of the Ministry of Construction and Transport, the widening of Hungary’s largest motorway is underway. Construction will start with the removal of vegetation from the inner dividing lane and the construction of the service crossings, but preparatory work has been ongoing since last autumn.

The 78 km long motorway 1 between the M0 and the Concó rest area at km 94 will be widened to 2×3 lanes, plus one so-called intelligent stopping lane on each side, which can be used as a full-fledged traffic lane, will be opened for traffic during accidents, work or heavy traffic, so that traffic can move on 2*4 lanes between Budapest and Győr.

According to the Concession Contract with the Hungarian State, the section between M0 and Bicske will be completed by 31.08.2028, and the section up to the Concó rest area by 31.08.2029. The track between Concó rest and Hegyeshalom will also be extended, but at a later date. The lane extensions will be carried out in such a way as to ensure that the 2*2 traffic lanes will be available to road users at all times.

In order to inform road users quickly and accurately, MKIF Zrt. has launched today a dedicated website on the M1 widening. It contains all traffic-related information: possible closures of junctions and rest areas, current diversions with maps and technical rescue procedures, access to emergency stopping points and the current traffic regime. The site is constantly updated and is available in Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Romanian, Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, Polish, Turkish, Bulgarian, English, German and Russian. The site is available here: https://development.mkif.hu/m1

The following animation can help you to understand how and through which diversions and workflows we will get from the original traffic order to the final, extended M1 traffic order:

The widening of the M1 is not just a lane extension, it is a much more complex, systemic development:

• 72 existing underpasses and overpasses will be rebuilt to meet the new cross-section requirements. The widened track would simply not fit under or over them,
• 11 existing junctions will be upgraded and 4 new dedicated junctions will be built,
• 6 complex rest areas will be completely rebuilt and the rest will be extended and modernised,
• around 300 new truck parking spaces will be created and family-friendly rest area improvements will be completed,
• 2 engineering sites are expanded and modernised (Bicske, Komárom),
• 7 at-grade sub-nodes will be transformed into modern roundabouts,
• we build modern drainage and reservoir systems,
• significantly increase the length and height of noise barriers.

MKIF Zrt. is carrying out the M1 extension from its own resources, with a significant amount of its own resources, on the basis of a Concession Contract with the Hungarian State, in cooperation with the Ministry of Construction and Transport. The largest motorway extension in decades, it is part of a 10-year development period during which the Concessionaire will extend 299 km of the M7 and M3 motorways and build 279 km of new expressways alongside the M1 between 2025 and 2034.