Moldova and Romania build Prut bridge at Ungheni by autumn 2026

Announced on 21 January 2026: at a meeting of Moldova's deputy prime minister and infrastructure minister Vladimir Bolea with a state secretary of Romania's transport ministry, the talks covered progress on the Ungheni–Ungheni bridge, which is to be the first motorway bridge across the Prut between the two countries, and its commissioning in autumn 2026. Other topics were the modernisation of border crossings, the Cantemir–Fălciu and Cahul–Galați railway lines and the electrification of Iași–Ungheni; the report gives no cost for the bridge. The date is a placeholder: only autumn 2026 is mentioned. (LOK Report, 21 Jan 2026) Update (25 Oct 2026): The bridge is 261 m long and financed with almost €35m from the Connecting Europe Facility; it is the first new Prut bridge in almost 60 years. In mid-May 2026 construction was nearly 50% complete (piles, abutments and piers in place, steel deck being installed), and opening to traffic is still expected in autumn 2026. On 24 Jul 2026 the Moldovan roads administration also tendered the 410 m access road (World Bank-funded, bid deadline 8 Sep 2026, twelve months of works), so it is unlikely to be finished before 2027; at first traffic is to use the nearby national roads. Four more Prut bridges are planned by 2030 (Moldovainvest, 13 May 2026; Radio Moldova, 24 Jul 2026).