Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Bulgaria unveils plans for new Montana-Sofia express road with tunnel under Petrohan mountain pass

The Road Infrastructure Agency building.
Photo: api.bg

Yordan Valchev, Chairman of the Board of the Road Infrastructure Agency (API), has signed a contract for the design of the Montana-Sofia expressway, which includes a tunnel under the Petrohan mountain pass. The contract, awarded to Transconsult-22 Ltd, is worth EUR 1.8 million (excluding VAT) and has a completion period of 365 calendar days. The planned expressway will be approximately 82 km long with a design speed of 120 km/h, while ensuring that protected areas are not affected.

The Montana-Sofia expressway, with a tunnel under the Petrohan Pass, is a critical link in the national and European transport networks. Currently, transit times on the Sofia-Petrohan-Montana route and towards Lom on the Danube are significantly longer due to the difficult passage through Petrohan. In winter, traffic restrictions are often imposed due to the mountainous terrain and harsh weather conditions, increasing the burden on alternative routes.

Plans for such an expressway have existed since the late 1980s, but due to the presence of protected areas and sites along the proposed routes, previous projects were cancelled



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Citizens protest against the election of chief prosecutor

Hundreds of citizens protested in the so-called triangle of power in Sofia, where the buildings of the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers and the Presidency are located, with the request for termination of the procedure for..

published on 10/16/24 8:50 AM

President Radev pays an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina

On October 16 and 17, President Rumen Radev will pay an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina at the invitation of the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Bećirović . Discussions will focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina's..

published on 10/16/24 7:10 AM

Slight drop in temperature expected on Wednesday

On Wednesday, the minimum temperatures in Bulgaria will be between 5°C and 10°C , in Sofia - around 8°C. Sunny weather will prevail during the day. More significant temporary increases in cloudiness will occur before noon over the northeastern part of..

published on 10/15/24 7:35 PM