Károly BARTA¹, József SZATMÁRI¹ & Ádám POSTA²
1Department of Physical Geography and Geoinformatics, University of Szeged, 2-6 Egyetem Street, Szeged 6720 Hungary, barta@geo.u-szeged.hu
2Department of Social and Human Geography, University of Szeged, 2-6 Egyetem Street, Szeged 6720 Hungary

CONNECTION BETWEEN INLAND EXCESS WATER DEVELOPMENT AND MOTORWAYS

Full text

It has been known for a long time that linear infrastructures (railways, roads, embankments) significantly influence surface and subsurface horizontal water movements. Clear evidence can be observed at places where oxbows and abandoned meanders are crossed by roads, while the effect can hardly be shown at lowlands free from linear water drainage forms. This research seeks to answer the question of whether the motorways opened in the last 10 years around Szeged, SE Hungary (M5, M43), have any role in the appearance of extended patterns of inland excess water along certain sections of the motorways. The infiltration conditions of two selected sample sites were determined by soil and geodetic studies and it was also possible to determine the elevation of the groundwater level. The analysis of results underlines the significant effect of linear infrastructures. Inland excess water patterns along the studied highway sections are caused by the motorway M43.