Intermittent rain, heavy traffic forecast for Bulgaria’s four-day Easter weekend
Bulgaria’s four-day Orthodox Easter weekend, on April 26-29 2019, has once again prompted warnings from authorities about heavy traffic, complicated by a series of roadworks on several motorways.
Traffic police said that it had deployed additional staff on major roads in capital city Sofia, where the outbound traffic is expected to be at its heaviest.
On April 25, the last working day before the long weekend, restrictions were in place on motor vehicles of more than 12 tons for motorways and the most heavily-used roads from 4pm to 8pm, Bulgaria’s Road Infrastructure Agency said.
The same restrictions, which do not apply to lorries transporting perishable goods or livestock, would be in place between 2pm and 8pm on April 29, when inbound traffic into Sofia is expected to be at a peak.
Additionally, the road agency would increase the number of outbound lanes from Sofia between April 25 and 10am on April 28, followed by a shift to increase the number of inbound lanes into Sofia between 10am on April 28 and 10am on April 30.
Due to roadworks on the Trakia and Hemus motorways, which link Sofia to the Black Sea cities of Bourgas and Varna, respectively, motorists were advised to factor in longer travelling times, the agency said. Heavy traffic was also expected on the Strouma motorway between Sofia and the Greek border.
The road agency and traffic police advised motorists to drive carefully, at reasonable speeds and warned against driving in the emergency lane.
The weather forecast for the long weekend was mostly sunny with scattered clouds, with the exception of Saturday, April 26, when heavy clouds were expected over the entire country, with scattered rain showers in western Bulgaria, including Sofia.
Temperatures were expected to range between 21C and 25 in western and central Bulgaria throughout the weekend. In the eastern part of the country, including the Black Sea coast, daily highs were forecast at 14C-19C on Friday and Saturday, rising to 19C-23C on Sunday and Monday.