A pedestrian crossing has finally been marked on national road R16, right in front of the Gherman school in Sculeni commune. For the pupils who cross the highway every day, it is good news. But documents published by the mayor’s office itself show this is not an administrative success — it is a basic obligation met very late: the State Road Administration had promised the crossing, in writing, back for 2024, and delivered it only now, in June 2026.
What the documents show
On 26 June 2024, the State Road Administration replied to the Sculeni mayor, in letter no. 07-03/3054, that after coordinating the traffic scheme with the police it would build the crossing „during 2024”.
The crossing did not appear in 2024. Almost two years later, on 19 May 2026, the Sculeni Commune Hall sent a fresh request (no. 108), noting drily that „to date, the said measure has not been implemented”, and asking for the situation to be reviewed. The works were finally carried out this month, by the State Road Administration together with the Ungheni subdivision of S.A. „Drumuri Strășeni”.
What was actually done
According to the official traffic-organisation scheme for the R16 section at km 54+900–55+250, the work means a flat crossing with road markings, warning signs and a 30 km/h limit in the school zone. About 300 metres away, at km 54+950, a traffic-monitoring camera has been operating since 2021.
It is, therefore, the „basic” solution — paint and signs. On Moldova’s national roads, when the state really wanted to protect pupils, it used a tougher measure: in 2023, the same road administration built 157 raised pedestrian crossings, „especially near schools”, which physically force drivers to slow down. At Gherman, there is no such hump for now.
Why it matters, beyond a line of paint
Road R16 Bălți–Fălești–Sculeni–Ungheni was fully rebuilt in 2022 — about 55 kilometres, an investment of over 50 million euros from a European Investment Bank loan, with new sidewalks and signs. The natural moment to fix the school crossing was then, when the new asphalt was being laid. It did not happen.
The stakes are not theoretical. Nationally, in 2024, of the 209 people killed in road accidents, 62 were pedestrians, according to General Police Inspectorate data processed by the National Bureau of Statistics. Moldova’s child road-death rate is about three times the European Union average. In the Ungheni district, official accident statistics record dozens of injured and several deaths every year.
The Gherman section has a history of its own: local media reported at least three serious road accidents between 2019 and 2023, one of them fatal, in October 2023. None, however, involved pedestrians or pupils at this crossing — these were vehicle collisions, showing the speed and risk on the section, not a specific tragedy at the school gate. The new crossing is a preventive measure, not a response to a victim here.
What the mayor’s office says, and what remains unanswered
The mayor of Sculeni, Sergiu Gusevatîi, thanked, in a post, the State Road Administration and the company „Drumuri Strășeni” for carrying out the works, and urged drivers to slow down and pupils to cross responsibly.
But questions remain that the road authority has not answered publicly: why it took almost two years and a second request for a crossing promised in writing; why it was not included in the 2022 rebuild; and why a flat crossing was chosen, rather than a raised one, as at other schools.
The documents cited were made public by the Sculeni Commune Hall. As of publication, Triunghi.md has not obtained the State Road Administration’s position on the delay, nor does it have the exact number of Gherman school pupils who cross national road R16 each day.
