MRDP has taken an important step toward repairing the Hemus Highway bypass

The major repair of the Hemus Motorway bypass – the 23-kilometer section of the first-class road between Sofia and Botevgrad – has received a building permit. However, the situation is different for the other bypass – that of the Trakia Motorway.

Responses from the Road Infrastructure Agency to questions from Economic.bg reveal that while one project is on the verge of breaking ground, the other is stalled due to cadastral inaccuracies.

We recall that the tender for the major repair of both alternative routes was announced as early as May 2023. At the end of November of the same year, the contractors were selected.

The Hemus Bypass Route

The building permit (No. RS-48), signed by Acting Regional Minister Nikolay Naydenov on April 2, covers the section from the village of Churek, passing through the villages of Potop and Eleshnitsa, and ending near the village of Yana. The document orders preliminary implementation, which the state justifies with the “protection of particularly important state interests” and the need to ensure the safety of those passing through the settlements.

Despite the urgent nature of the order, construction equipment will not enter the site immediately. RIA clarified that the permit is to be published in the "State Gazette," after which the appeal deadlines will begin.

The builders’ schedule also depends on coordination with local authorities. The procedure requires mandatory coordination of construction waste management and road safety plans with the relevant municipalities through whose territories the 23-kilometer route passes.

Only then can the actual traffic management for the section be organized to ensure the safe passage of vehicles during the repair work.

Actual construction work on the project will begin once all legal and administrative procedures are completed," the Road Agency summarizes, adding that the contractor will provide its final schedule immediately after the signing of Protocol 2a for the opening of the construction site.

We remind you that the deadline for completion of the project is 570 calendar days, and the contractor is the consortium DZZD “Road I-1 Yana Station” with a contract worth just over 18.7 million euros (36.6 million BGN) excluding VAT. The scope of work includes the rehabilitation of 23 km of the route, including 7 major bridge structures and two overpasses.

The Trakia Duplicate Route

The outlook is far more pessimistic for the 58-kilometer section of the first-class road between Novi Han and Kostenets, which is intended to duplicate the Trakia Highway. The project is in the second of three design phases, according to RIA.

We recall that, according to the latest information from late 2025, the contractor has updated the technical design for the major repair of the section, which is riddled with huge potholes. The section has not been repaired for nearly 30 years.

It is clear from RIA’s responses that obstacles have arisen.

During the design phase, it became necessary to replace existing water mains and other engineering infrastructure, and an obvious factual error (OFE) was identified in the cadastral maps of the municipalities through whose territory the entire length of the route passes,” the Agency states.

A procedure to correct this error is currently underway, after which the contractor must submit the second interim phase of the project for review by the Expert Technical and Economic Council (ETEC). Upon its approval, work will continue with the next stage of documentation. After the final acceptance of the technical design by ETIS, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW) will issue a building permit, and Form 2a will be signed to open the construction site.

We remind you that the deadline for the repair work is 600 calendar days, and the contractor is “GP Group” AD with a contract worth 50 million euros excluding VAT (103 million BGN).

Both projects will be financed with funds from the national budget, RIA further noted.

Translated with DeepL.