Map of Moldovan roads. Red represents magistral roads, purple represents republican roads, and yellow represents local roads

Currently, there are three defined types of public roads in the Republic of Moldova:[1]

  • National road (Romanian: Drum național – pl. Drumuri naționale)
  • Local road (Romanian: Drum local – pl. Drumuri locale)
  • Street (Romanian: Stradă – pl. Străzi)

In total, Moldova has a total length of 10,680 kilometres (6,636 mi) of road. From those, 3,668 km (2,279 mi) are national roads and 7,012 km (4,357 mi) are local roads.[2] The general maximum speed limit on public roads is 90 km/h (55 mph), while a speed limit of 50 km/h (30 mph) is imposed inside localities.

Its current road network is inherited from the former Soviet Union (the Moldavian SSR).

Vignette

Moldova is the only country which requires use of vignettes (roviniete) on all public roads, inside and outside localities, as a form of road tolling for all non-Moldovan vehicles. Vignettes are available for purchase at border crossing points, with 2023 prices from €4 for a week up to €180 for a year. Drivers caught without a valid vignette are charged with cash fines starting from MDL 5,000 (€231).[3]

Motorways

As of 2021, there are no segments of motorway (Romanian: Autostradă) that are officially open. The first motorway-class road in Moldova is planned to be the Chișinău - Cimișlia motorway, which is to be assigned "M3". Works on what could be the first motorway began in the 80s (under Soviet rule), but began to slow down after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, stopping in 1996 with the Chișinău - Porumbrei segment (32 km or 20 mi) open only on one carriageway. Works on what could eventually become the first motorway in Moldova resumed in 2019.[4]

Thus, it can be said that Moldova has de facto 32 km (20 mi) of motorway in service, but de jure the Chișinău - Porumbrei segment does not count as a motorway, with plans calling for the Chișinău - Cimișlia road to receive motorway status only after works are finished.[4]

In 2018, a second motorway route in Moldova (Ungheni - Chișinău - border with Ukraine toward Odesa) was proposed as a continuation of Romania's A8 motorway to the east (est. 100 km or 62 mi long), and thus of the future motorway corridor Iași–Cluj-Napoca–Budapest–Vienna–Munich.[5] In 2021, it had been proposed by the IDEP that the motorway segment between Chișinău and the Romanian border become a "national priority" for Moldova.[6]

National roads

National roads in Moldova are divided into two categories: magistral roads (Romanian: Drumuri magistrale) and republican roads (Romanian: Drumuri republicane).[1] Magistral roads mainly serve as connections to road networks of neighboring countries, those of Romania and Ukraine. Republican roads serve as connections between places in Moldova, but may also reach the border.[1] All magistral roads start or pass through the capital city of Chișinău, with the exception of the M4.[7]

M1 highway

The M1 approaching the Romanian border, near Leușeni.
The M3 between Răzeni and Porumbrei.
The M14 near Negrești, at the intersection with local road L443.

The M1 links Chișinău to the Romanian capital of Bucharest and further Romanian cities via the Leușeni-Albița border checkpoint. It is 97 km (60 mi) long.[7]

M2 highway

The M2 is one of the magistral roads that link Chișinău to the border with Ukraine. The road, which is 185 km (115 mi) long, passes through Orhei and Soroca before reaching the border at Cosăuți. There's currently no bridge over the Dniester river in the area, with this gap covered by a ferry. Work on building a 1,400m dual carriageway bridge is scheduled for 2025.[8]

M3 highway

The M3 serves as a connection between Chișinău and the Moldova–Romania border; this time towards the proposed Lower Danube metropolitan area (which includes the Romanian cities of Galați and Brăila) via the autonomous territory of Gagauzia. The main cities crossed by the road include Cimișlia, Comrat and Vulcănești, ending near the tripoint of Moldova and its two surrounding countries at Giurgiulești. It is 217 km (135 mi) long.

Future plans call for the Chișinău - Cimișlia section to become a motorway-class road, the first motorway in Moldova.[4]

M4 highway

The M4 is the only road that doesn't start or pass through Chișinău and of which all segments are in the control of the Transnistrian government. The road forms the backbone of the Transnistrian road network as it links all the main cities located in the territory: Tiraspol, Dubăsari and Rîbnița, with its northern terminus at the border with Ukraine. It is 178 km (111 mi) long.

M5 highway

The M5(M14 CIS) is the longest Moldovan road, at 370 km (230 mi), crossing Moldova on the north - south reference. It passes through the three most populous Moldovan cities (Chișinău, Bălți and Tiraspol), as well as Edineț.[7]

The designation "M14" dates back to the era of the Soviet Union. The Soviet M14 highway served as a link between the present-day border with Poland at Brest (Byelorussian SSR) and the city of Odesa (Ukrainian SSR) on the Black Sea coast.[9] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the designation of the former M14 was retained on the Moldovan section, while the sections in Ukraine and Belarus have gotten new designations. It was later renamed to M5.

M21 highway

The M21 is the second connection between Chișinău and the border with Ukraine. It is the shortest of all magistral roads, at 60 km (37 mi), and passes through Dubăsari.

List

Some intersections between Moldovan trunk roads use interchanges, like here at the M2-R14 junction. This is common in former Soviet states.
List of magistral roads[7]
Number Route Length
km mi
M 1 Ukraine → Dubăsari – Chișinău – Leușeni → Romania 154 96
M 2 Chișinău – Orhei – Soroca → Ukraine 155 96
M 2.1 M2 – Cosăuți 3.5 2.2
M 3 Chișinău – Cimișlia – Comrat – Vulcănești → Romania 217 135
M 3.1 M3 – Comrat East 4.3 2.7
M 4 Tiraspol – Dubăsari – Rîbnița – Hristovaia → Ukraine 178 111
M 5 Ukraine → Edineț – Bălți – Chișinău – Tiraspol → Ukraine 370 230
Total 1,082 672
List of republican roads[7]
Number Route Length
km mi
R 1 Chișinău – Strășeni – Călărași – Ungheni → Romania 118 73
R 2 Chișinău – Tighina 60 37
R 3 Chișinău – Hîncești – Cimișlia → Ukraine 98 61
R 4 Chișinău – Criuleni – Dubăsari 32 20
R 5 Chișinău – Dorotcaia 32 20
R 6 Ialoveni – Dumbrava 6 3.7
R 7 Romania → Rîșcani – Drochia – Soroca 101 63
R 8 Edineț – Corbu – Otaci → Ukraine 55 34
R 9 Otaci – Soroca 40 25
R 10 Ruseni – Ocnița 19 12
R 11 Briceni – Ocnița 35 22
R 12 Bălți Airport – Drochia – Corbu 63 39
R 13 Bălți – Florești – Rîbnița 52 32
R 14 Bălți – Sîngerei – Sărătenii Vechi 66 41
R 15 Bălți – Glodeni 30 19
R 16 Bălți – Fălești – Sculeni → Romania 49 30
R 17 Fălești – Pîrlița 32 20
R 18 Sîngerei – Florești 45 28
R 19 Pohoarna – Sănătăuca 31 19
R 20 Călărași – Orhei – Rîbnița 114 71
R 21 Răciula – Hîrjauca 11 6.8
R 22 Meleșeni – Telenești – Ratuș 29 18
R 23 Ivancea – Criuleni 34 21
R 24 Strășeni – Căpriana 11 6.8
R 25 Bucovăț – Nisporeni – Bărboieni 46 29
R 26 Cimișlia – Căușeni – Bender – Tiraspol 103 64
R 27 Tiraspol – Corotna – Pervomaisc 49 30
R 28 Hlinaia – Răscăieții Noi 18 11
R 29 Răzeni – Bender 58 36
R 30 Chetrosu – Căușeni – Ștefan Vodă → Ukraine 95 59
R 31 Căușeni → Ukraine 18 11
R 32 Chetrosu – Sălcuța 51 32
R 33 Hîncești – Lăpușna – Leușeni 36 22
R 34 Hîncești – Cantemir – Cahul – Slobozia Mare 168 104
R 35 Comrat – Basarabeasca 26 16
R 36 Taraclia – Basarabeasca 61 38
R 37 Ceadîr-Lunga – Comrat – Cantemir 81 50
R 38 Taraclia – Cahul – Vulcănești 72 45
R 40 Biruința – Chetrosu 31 19
R 41 Rîșcani – Glodeni 19 12
R 42 Ungheni – Bărboieni 33 21
R 44 Călărași – Ciuciuleni – Hîncești 65 40
R 45 Edineț – Pîrjota 24 15
R 46 Cuporani – Iargara 10 6.2
R 47 Cimișlia – Sărata Nouă 39 24
R 49 Basarabeasca → Ukraine 4 2.5
R 50 Dubăsari – Criuleni 6 3.7
R 51 Otaci – Ocnița 26 16
R 52 Tudora – Palanca 14 8.7
R 53 Glodeni – Cobani 19 12
R 54 Cunicea – Soloneț 30 19
R 55 Briceni → Ukraine 3 1.9
R 56 Cantemir – Tartaul de Salcie 48 30
R 57 Fălești – Costești 59 37
R 59 Bulboaca – Delacău 29 18
Total 2,504 1,556

Local roads

In Moldova, local roads mainly serve as links between district administrative centers and villages/communes located in the specific district, as well as between one village/commune and another.[1] They are maintained by the appropriate local authorities depending on their location, previously being maintained by the national state-owned company Administrația de Stat a Drumurilor (ASD) until 2017. Since then, the ASD solely maintains national roads, with the exception of those located in Transnistria.[2]

European routes

European routes (E-roads) passing through the Republic of Moldova:[7]

Transnistria

As an autonomous territory with limited recognition as an independent state, the authorities of Transnistria, which is internationally recognized as part of Moldova, have complete control of all road segments that pass through the breakaway territory. The M4 highway, which crosses Transnistria on the north–south reference, is in complete control of Transnistria, as well as parts of M14 and M21, and many segments of republican and local roads. The complete length of the Transnistrian road network totals 1,070 km (660 mi).[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Roads law no. 509/22.06.1995
  2. 1 2 3 Raportul 2020 asd.md
  3. ↑ "News on road tax in Moldova". Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "(VIDEO) Drumul care trebuia să fie prima autostradă din Moldova: aşa arată în prezent construcţia porţiunii Porumbrei-Cimişlia". piataauto.md.
  5. ↑ "Autostradă de 100 de km în Moldova! Subiectul a ajuns în agenda Parlamentului European și a Comisiei Europene". autoblog.md. 28 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "IDEP suggests making Chișinău-Ungheni highway national priority". IPN.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Google. "Map of Moldovan road network" (Map). Google Maps. Google.
  8. ↑ "Agreement signed for Ukraine-Moldova bridge". 14 June 2023.
  9. ↑ "Moldova - Road numbering systems". sites.google.com. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
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