Balkan Mountains tunnel project will be done in parts in an attempt to speed it up

The project for the construction of the tunnel under the Balkan Mountains, which will facilitate the connection between the northern and southern halves of Bulgaria, passing near the city of Gabrovo, is most likely going to be divided into two stages. This was announced by Tomislav Donchev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth, during a parliamentary hearing. According to him, it is quite realistic to complete the part of the route leading to the tunnel on the northern side this year. Meanwhile, activities should also be underway on the southern side to design and build the bypass near the city of Kazanlak.

The realistic plan for this year is to build a large part of the route leading to the tunnel from the north. At the same time, it is critically important that activities are underway from the south, and for me, the first priority here is the design and construction of the bypass of the city of Kazanlak," said Donchev.

According to him, the project is now being relaunched. It is of utmost importance for the settlements near it, as well as for the traffic connections in the country. In Donchev’s view, over the past 4 years, all sorts of obstacles have impeded its implementation.

Several caretaker ministers over the past 2 years reported problems in the Detailed Development Plan, additional alienations, inconsistencies in the Cadastral Map, but there was also a management plan for the Bulgarka Nature Park, which, according to Donchev, practically banned the project. The latter problem found its solution last year, when the court ordered the management plan to be changed.

The Deputy Prime Minister explained that the documentation states that compensatory measures must be taken for several acres of beech forest, which, however, had been cut down 7-8 years ago for mining.

I find it absurd. I don't know as a country and a society why we are hindering ourselves from such key investments."

"The last 4 years have not been a good time for this project. Unfortunately, we are in a worse situation than we were before, given the attempts at additional restrictions," Donchev added.

He said that meetings were held with all stakeholders (such as the Road Agency and the Ministry of Environment) so that all obstacles from recent years could be removed, including those related to environmental protection.

From Donchev's words, it became clear that the missing bypass roads of Kazanlak and Sevlievo will also be a problem, since the national road currently passes through the center of the cities

Sevlievo Municipality has commissioned the design of a bypass road, and the project is ready and should begin to be implemented," Donchev commented.

He added that the new underpass road would generate so-called "additional traffic", and this should also be taken into consideration.

What and how can it be built?

The project includes the reconstruction of the road between the city of Gabrovo and the Shipka Mountain Pass, part of the I-5 national road, as well as the construction of a 3.2-kilometer tunnel under Mount Shipka.

The total road section to be built is just over 10 km long. Its northern stretch starts south of Gabrovo and runs along the eastern slope of the Kozyata River before crossing it and entering the future tunnel.

The tunnel itself will pass under Malusha Peak (to the west) and Stoletov Peak (to the east).

On the southern side, in the direction of Kazanlak, the plan is to build another 240-metre-long tunnel. After that, the route will merge into the current I-5 road.

In addition to the tunnel under Shipka, the route includes 4 smaller tunnels with a total length of just over 4 kilometers:

• Tunnel 1 – 171 m (km 22+720 to km 22+891);
• Tunnel 3 – 240 m (after Shipka Tunnel);
• Tunnel 4 – 90 m;
• Tunnel 5 – 290 m.

The construction of 7 bridge structures and 1 underpass is planned.

In the Balkan Mountains tunnel under Shipka, the route will have two lanes. In separate sections, an additional third lane has been laid. The entire route will be 10.5 m wide, which is standard.

When will the tunnel under Shipka be ready?

The two project stages mean that its timeline could be shortened. However, the project has been significantly delayed in recent years, and it is unclear whether that can make up for the time lost.

The design phase was extended twice due to problems in the plan, once by 192 calendar days, and a second time by 164 days. Thus, the total completion time increased from the originally scheduled 1550 calendar days (about 4 years) to 1906 (over 5 years).

A review by Economic.bg of the procurement documentation shows that with an additional agreement dated February 20, this time was extended again by another 123 calendar days. Thus, the total time for completing the project (design and construction) jumps to 2029 days (over 5 and a half years).

The new design period is to last 719 calendar days, and for the implementation of the first intermediate stage, during which the substantial completion of the design work should occur, 699 days. Although the various agreements so far only change the design phase, this logically also extends the total time for the completion of the entire project. It also postpones the start of the actual construction.

The engineering contract was signed in June 2022 during the Petkov cabinet with the PSVT Consortium. The leading partner in this group is Hidrostroy AD, which also includes Patni Stroezhi Veliko Tarnovo AD and Patinzheneringstroy-T EAD. These firms are linked to the construction magnate Veliko Zhelev.

The project is worth over 183 million euros, including VAT. It is financed by the Operational Program "Transport Connectivity" 2021-2027. However, recently it came to light that this money was not enough. The tunnel, together with the Gabrovo bypass, was supposed to be ready in 2026.

In recent years, various government ministers have expressed doubts about the capacity of the future tunnel to handle the expected traffic flow, as it will only have one lane in each direction. In early 2022, Grozdan Karadjov, in his role as regional minister back then, was the first to express concerns about this. Ivan Shishkov, who was a caretaker regional minister, also believed that the facility was poorly and incorrectly planned.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov