Romania's motorway blues

radio free europe
Romanian roads
Aug 16th 2011, 12:09 by V.P.

BUCHAREST
IF YOU want to discover Romania, don't drive, rent a helicopter. Such was the advice Traian Băsescu, the country's president, had for potential investors from the Gulf, back in March. "I've never discovered Romania the way I did from a helicopter," said Mr Băsescu, admitting that the country's transport infrastructure is badly underdeveloped.

It is certainly a sorry picture. Most of Romania's 300-odd kilometres of highway were built during the communist era, and are showing their age. The roads connecting Bucharest, the capital, with other cities are chronically clogged. Trains chug along at no more than 50-60km an hour, slower than when the railways were constructed. The Danube stuns the few cruise-ship tourists with its underexploited vastness....more...
read more: radio free europe
http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2011/08/romanian-roads