Bulgaria’s road agency announces arrangements for motorways in summer 2019
Bulgaria’s Road Infrastructure Agency said on May 30 that because of the expected heavy traffic to the seaside during the summer 2019 season, heavy goods lorries would be barred from motorways and busy roads at peak hours at the end of the week and on weekends.
The restrictions on the movement of lorries of more than 12 tons will come into effect as of June 21.
The aim is to ease car traffic, increase safety and avoid congestion.
This was announced at a joint news conference at the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) Radoslav Vlahov, member of the Management Board of the RIA, Ivan Dossev, director of the Road Infrastructure Maintenance Department and Chief Inspector Kaloyan Draganov of the national police.
On Fridays and Saturdays, when many cars head in the direction of Bulgaria’s Black Sea cities of Varna and Bourgas, in the sections of Hemus and Trakiya motorways under repair, there will be two lanes for traffic towards the seaside, and on Sunday and Monday, two lanes in the direction of Sofia.
The Road Infrastructure Agency and Traffic Police said that this arrangement had been in place during the May 24-26 long weekend, and had worked successfully, without serious congestion.
By the end of June, the repairs to the Trakiya Motorway, which links Sofia and the southern Black Sea coast via Plovdiv, will be completed. All temporary traffic restrictions will be lifted, Dossev said.
On the Hemus Motorway, construction work in the Vitinya tunnel in the direction of Sofia, as well as near the village of Potok and the Korenishki Dol viaduct will continue during the summer season.
Vlahov appealed to motorists to comply with the rules, to be more tolerant and not to use the emergency lane to overtake or otherwise get past other traffic.
Draganov said that in spite of the large fine, 1000 leva (about 500 euro) and suspension of driving licence for three months, motorists continued to drive in the emergency lane.
The news conference was told that the public could report offenders who broke traffic rules, as well as any other problems on the road, to emergency number 112 and to the emergency situation centre at telephone number 0700 130 20.
(Photo: Anton Lefterov)
