There will be three large bridges and two tunnels on the Kresna bypass. Currently, over 60 heavy-duty vehicles and 170 construction workers are working on the site, and in addition to the heavy-duty vehicles, there is also specialized drilling equipment for the execution of piles. The construction site is being cleaned of bushes and trees and the humus layer is being removed. Work is being done on all underpasses for agricultural intersections, as well as on part of the reconstruction of power lines and irrigation canals. Preparatory work has also begun for the construction of one of the tunnel facilities, and the excavations at the pre-portal sites are currently being strengthened. The bridge structures are being built with pile foundations with a diameter of 1.2 m, with a total length of about 650 m.
The construction of the Kresna bypass started on November 27, 2018. The section will be nearly 4.2 km long and is part of the project for lot 3.2.2 of the Struma Motorway. With the construction of the route, which will pass east of the city, transit traffic will be moved outside the settlement and traffic safety will increase. The estimated completion date for the construction and installation works is about two years.
The bypass will have a gauge of G 10.50, which is two lanes. The first two hundred meters of it coincide with road I-1, after which it will pass along a new route. The section will cross the Struma River in two places, pass by the "Tisata" reserve, over the I-1 road and the Sofia - Kulata railway line, as well as over the Vlahinska River. 5 large structures will be built on the site - two tunnels and three bridges. The "Kresna 1" and "Kresna 2" tunnels will be 359 m and 231 m long. The two bridges over the Struma River will be 298 m and 296 m long, respectively, and the third bridge structure over the Vlahinska River will be 203 m. At the end of the section there will be a recreation area, after which the staged connection with the first-class I-1 Sofia - Kulata road will be built. The site will have the opportunity to locate commercial facilities with 50 parking spaces for trucks and buses and 49 parking spaces for cars, of which 5 will be for people in disadvantaged situations.
The intersections with agricultural roads will be carried out on two levels through 4 underpasses. The goal is to provide farmers in the region with safe and convenient access to agricultural properties. To protect biodiversity, 22 small facilities /water culverts/ will be built, which will serve the functions of “reptile passages“. The project also includes the construction of reinforced concrete walls in two sections with a length of 37 m and 71 m and one retaining pocket wall, which will be 119 m.
The construction of the Kresna bypass is a stage of the project for the design and construction of Lot 3.2.2 of the Struma Motorway, Krupnik - Kresna section - left lane from km 389+100 to km 399+500, Kresna bypass - part of the right lane from km 396+137 (along the kilometer line of road I-1 /E79/) to km 401+691.90≡397+000 of Lot 3.3 of the Struma Motorway, including road connections. The contractor for the design and construction works is the DZZD “Struma - 3.2.2“, in which: “GBS Infrastructure Construction“ AD, “Glavbolgarstroy International“ EAD and “EPOS – Empresa Portuguesa de Obras Subterreneas“ AD, Portugal, Porto Salvo)“ EOOD participate. The value of the contract for lot 3.2.2 is 570,239,136.32 BGN or 291,558,640.74 EUR. The construction supervision is assigned to the DZZD “Struma 2019-PPI-SWS“, in which are “Patinvest-engineering“ AD and “SWS engineering Spa“, Italy, Trento. The value of the contract is 9,413,253.89 leva including VAT or 4,883,860.05 euros. The term for the implementation of the construction and installation works of lot 3.2.2 under the contract is 1286 calendar days and starts from the date of signing of Protocol no. 2a.
In 2023, the completion of the “Kresna“ road junction was completed, another stage of the construction of lot 3.2.2. The road junction was supplemented with three new road connections, necessary for the safe and conflict-free connection between road I-1/E-79/ Sofia - Kulata and the Kresna - Sandanski section of the “Struma“ motorway.