The M1 motorway is not able to handle in the long run the motor traffic increased significantly over the last years, so SMMC Ltd. ordered a feasibility study on the possibilities of expansion, which was compiled by the colleagues of the Institute for Transport Sciences in 2009. The study has confirmed the assumption by the SMMC experts that it is necessary to reconstruct the section between Budapest and Tata to have 2x3 lanes and a concrete structure.

The M1 motorway, which has 2x2 lanes, reached the area of the current M1-M0 junction in 1981, until 1986 it was further constructed to Tata, and since 1996 it runs as far as the country border.  The structure of the motorway (thickness, loadability, etc.) was fundamentally planned on the basis of a prior analysis of truck traffic. When new motorway sections are constructed, the experts estimate the number of vehicles passing through the section, and before the reconstruction of existing sections, the data calculated so far are considered, and the traffic expected for the following 10 to 15 years is determined based on the known trends.

The number of vehicles using the Hungarian expressway network has significantly increased for the last decade and in particular since Hungary’s accession to the EU in 2004.   This is especially true for the M1 motorway, which plays a significant role in transit traffic. The load of this section creates heavy problems not only in the vicinity of Budapest.  For example, the number of vehicles using the section between Biatorbágy and Komárom practically doubled and, to make the situation worse, the proportion of trucks also considerably increased (from 28% to 36%) between 2000 and 2008. If this growth trend continues, the M1 motorway will reach the limit of its capacity within a short period of time. The 2008 economy crisis influenced this process as well, and in 2009, for the first time after a long period, the traffic of the motorway decreased, while this year it is close to last year’s level, although some signs of upturn could be observed in the first half of the year. If the upward trend characteristic before the crisis returns, capacity enhancement, that is the construction of a third lane, will become unavoidable within a few years.

In the course of its maintenance activity, SMMC Ltd. has always tried to react to these changes, but reconstruction including the replacement of the road surface can only temporarily solve the problem, the seriousness of which is reflected by the scale of extraordinary reconstructions due mostly to the large number of road defects directly or indirectly caused by the spring rainfall.

National Infrastructure Development Ltd. has recently invited a public procurement tender based on a 2009 study on the construction of three lanes of the M1 motorway. The subject of the procurement is the preparation of a study plan regarding capacity enhancement.  Under the current concepts, the first phase would include the construction of a third lane on the Törökbálint – Tata section, the traffic load of which is currently the most critical. Simultaneously, the present asphalt pavement would be replaced by a concrete structure, which has several favourable characteristics. Since its loadability is higher, no tracks will appear on it, and its lifetime will be longer (nearly three times as much as that of asphalt pavement). This structure does not require frequent corrections, so much less traffic diversions can be expected on these sections, and their operation costs will also be significantly lower.