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Highways

M7 motorway (Budapest – Lake Balaton – Nagykanizsa – Letenye) and M70 spur

Hungary's oldest motorway, from Budapest past Székesfehérvár and the south shore of Lake Balaton to Nagykanizsa and the Croatian border at Letenye. The first section opened on 1 April 1965 and the carriageways to Balatonaliga and Zamárdi were built by 1975, the last stretch as a semi-motorway. The missing parts were completed between 2002 and 2008, with the Kőröshegy viaduct opening on 8 August 2007 and the border section on 22 October 2008. The M70 branches at Letenye towards Slovenia (21 km, opened 2004–2005, rebuilt as a full motorway on 13 December 2019). Lots follow the hu.wikipedia history and sections table; costs and contractors are given only where a source names them.

Total length
247 km
Open today
247 km
Sections
14
Loading map data…

Sections

Sections of M7 motorway (Budapest – Lake Balaton – Nagykanizsa – Letenye) and M70 spur: status, length, dates, cost, funding and contractors
SectionsStatusLengthTimelineCostFundingContractorsContract terms
Budapest (Budaörsi út) – Budaörs – Törökbálint

First section of the M7, opened on 1 April 1965 as the shared M1–M7 stretch at Budaörs as far as Törökbálint. It was widened in 1977–1978 by one lane per direction in the middle to its present width. Today the M1 leaves at the M1–M7 split near km 12 and shares this section with the M7. Length measured from OpenStreetMap geometry. The drawn line starts where OpenStreetMap carries the M1;M7 reference at Budaörsi út in Budapest.

Opened10 km
  1. Apr 1, 1965Opened
––––
Törökbálint – Székesfehérvár – Balatonaliga

Built in two carriageway stages. The left carriageway reached Martonvásár on 17 June 1966 and Zamárdi by 1971. The right carriageway was built in 1972–1975, first from Törökbálint to Székesfehérvár and then to Aliga. Opened is given as 1975, the last year of that range. The original concrete-slab surface was later asphalted. The Székesfehérvár – Érd stretch has three lanes towards Budapest since 26 June 2008. Length measured from OpenStreetMap geometry. The cut at Balatonaliga is the Balatonvilágos junction.

Opened76 km
  1. 1975Opened
––––
Balatonaliga – Zamárdi

The left carriageway was built to Zamárdi by 1971 and served as a semi-motorway with one lane per direction, in effect an expressway, for almost thirty years. It joined the 7 main road at Zamárdi. The missing right carriageway was built from the early 2000s and opened on 11 November 2002, with the existing 90 km expressway renovated and converted into a motorway. hu.wikipedia gives no length for this section. Length measured from OpenStreetMap geometry.

Opened21 km
  1. 1971Opened
––––
Zamárdi – Balatonszárszó (Kőröshegy viaduct)

Opened on 8 August 2007, closing the last gap in the M7. The section includes the Kőröshegy viaduct (1,872 m, 17 spans, longest span 120 m, up to 88 m high per the article's bridge box) and two smaller viaducts of 300 m and 168 m. The viaduct was designed by Pont-TERV Zrt. and Hídépítő Zrt. and built by the Völgyhíd consortium of Hídépítő Zrt. and Strabag Zrt., under a contract signed on 7 May 2004. The Hungarian State Audit Office put the viaduct construction cost at HUF 51.175 billion; that figure covers the viaduct only. Route choice took from the 1970s to 2003 and the audit office found the decision on the viaduct route not justified on technical, economic, nature-protection or planning grounds.

Opened14 km
  1. Aug 8, 2007Opened
  • Actual Ft76BCost of the 14.2 km section opened with the viaduct, as stated on hu.wikipedia (76 milliárd forintba került); price year and VAT basis not stated.
–
  • Hídépítő Zrt.Builder
  • Strabag Zrt.Builder
  • Pont-TERV Zrt.Designer
–
Balatonszárszó – Ordacsehi

Opened in July 2005, 20 km per the hu.wikipedia sections table; the day is not given.

Opened20 km
  1. Jul 2005Opened
––––
Ordacsehi – Balatonkeresztúr

Opened on 27 March 2006, 25.7 km per the hu.wikipedia sections table.

Opened26 km
  1. Mar 27, 2006Opened
––––
Balatonkeresztúr – Zalakomár

Opened on 26 June 2008, 21 km per the hu.wikipedia sections table.

Opened21 km
  1. Jun 26, 2008Opened
––––
Zalakomár – Nagykanizsa

Opened on 19 August 2008, 15 km per the hu.wikipedia sections table. The cut at Nagykanizsa is the Nagykanizsa-kelet junction.

Opened15 km
  1. Aug 19, 2008Opened
––––
Nagykanizsa bypass – Sormás

Opened on 24 August 2007 as the Nagykanizsa bypass, 11.3 km per the hu.wikipedia sections table. The line drawn between the Nagykanizsa-kelet and Sormás junctions is 12.5 km, about 11% longer than the recorded figure; the recorded figure is kept.

Opened11 km
  1. Aug 24, 2007Opened
––––
Sormás (Eszteregnye) – Becsehely

Opened on 11 December 2006, 4.5 km per the hu.wikipedia sections table. The line drawn between the Sormás and Becsehely junctions is 5.5 km; the page's kilometre table puts them at km 219 and km 224. The recorded figure is kept.

Opened5 km
  1. Dec 11, 2006Opened
––––
Becsehely – Letenye

Opened in September 2004, 6.5 km per the hu.wikipedia sections table, which cites an origo.hu report; the day is not given. It ends at the M7–M70 junction. The line drawn between the Becsehely junction and the M70 junction is 7.5 km; the recorded figure is kept.

Opened7 km
  1. Sep 2004Opened
––––
Letenye – Croatian border (Zrínyi Bridge)

Opened on 22 October 2008, 0.8 km per the hu.wikipedia sections table, including the Zrínyi Bridge over the Mura (216 m). This completed the M7 from Budapest to Letenye and the Croatian border. The line drawn from the M7–M70 junction to the border is 2.2 km, well over the recorded 0.8 km. The page's kilometre table puts the Letenye junction at km 232 and the border at km 233; the recorded figure is kept.

Opened0.8 km
  1. Oct 22, 2008Opened
––––
M70: Letenye (M7 junction) – Tornyiszentmiklós

Spur of the M7 towards the Slovenian A5. It was finished by November 2004 over 18.6 km as a road with one lane per direction, widened to two lanes only around junctions. In August 2017 it was announced that EuroAszfalt Kft. and Colas Út Zrt. would build the four-laning of 10 km and linked works for HUF 16.7 billion (basis not stated; the article does not say which 10 km). The road reopened as a full motorway with two lanes per direction and a hard shoulder on 13 December 2019. The drawn line is 17.6 km, about 6% shorter than the recorded figure.

Opened19 km
  1. Nov 2004Opened
––––
M70: Tornyiszentmiklós – Slovenian border

Handed over in autumn 2005 together with the border crossing, 2 km, already built with two lanes per direction. The Slovenian continuation opened on 19 August 2008. The drawn line is 2.9 km, longer than the recorded 2 km; the recorded figure is kept.

Opened2 km
  1. 2005Opened
––––

Contractor roles are as recorded in the award. Only builders count toward the delivery rankings.

Related projects

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (hu): M7-es autópálya (Magyarország), history and sections tableread Oct 10, 2026
  2. Wikipedia (hu): M70-es autópálya (Magyarország)read Oct 10, 2026
  3. Wikipedia (hu): Kőröshegyi völgyhíd (cites the State Audit Office report of 2008)read Oct 10, 2026
  4. OpenStreetMap contributors: motorway ways with ref M7 and M70, via Overpass (ODbL)read Oct 10, 2026

Figures last checked against their sources in Oct 10, 2026.