The repair of the “Topli Dol“ tunnel was extremely urgent, there was no way we wouldn't close it and the repair wouldn't start, we refrained from doing it in the summer because of the heavier traffic. This was said by the Minister of Regional Development Ivan Shishkov.
If we hadn't closed the tunnel right now, we would most likely not be talking about traffic jams, but about ambulances, he noted.
The tunnel will be worked in two shifts so that the process is not interrupted and it is expedited, he pointed out. Around Christmas and New Year, the builder has committed to opening the tunnel, Shishkov pointed out.
We also have an agreement on Friday evening in the direction of Varna and Sunday evening in the direction of Sofia to stop freight traffic, which will ease the passage through the tunnel.
We are in infrastructure poverty, we have no highways, we have no bypass roads, this is the situation. Now we are obliged to restore part of these roads and complete all motorways in Bulgaria. When there is no infrastructure that should have been built in the last 10 years, this is an exceptional problem when we start repairing every road, Shishkov said.
All infrastructure projects start to become more expensive over time, when they are not completed, he noted.
Shishkov held an urgent working meeting with the mayors of the municipalities of Botevgrad and Gorna Malina – Ivan Gavalyugov and Eng. Angel Zhilanov, as well as with the management of the “Road Infrastructure“ Agency due to traffic on the “Hemus“ motorway due to the repair of the “Topli Dol“ tunnel.
Shishkov did not comment on the detention of the mayor of Belitsa, Radoslav Revanski. “I know about many signals that I have submitted to the prosecutor's office and I expect signals from them - the fourth lot of the “Hemus” motorway, the Northern Expressway, the assignments of the “Hemus” motorway. Let the prosecutor's office do its job”.
Asked about the anti-government protest, Shishkov replied: “The more the prosecutor's office, the government and the Ministry of Interior work to uncover all the irregularities that are happening in the country, the more fierce the anti-government protests become. This means that it doesn't bother us, but shows that we are doing our job. These protests are strange because the initiators of the protest are those political forces that declared to their voters and said that they want to fight against the mafia and corruption, against those whom we are currently indicting, and against those whom the current Ministry of Interior administration is detaining. The voters of these politicians who are currently organizing protests should be worried. If “Progressive Bulgaria“ had not appeared, all of this that you are asking me today would most likely not have happened. Had something happened in recent years? These protests serve these people who are most likely infinitely afraid“.