The "Road Infrastructure" Agency (API) officially admitted capitulation to the condition of the "Hemus" highway at the beginning of the winter season. In its bulletin today, the road agency directly points to the "unsatisfactory condition of the pavement" as the reason for drastic traffic restrictions right at the exit from Sofia.
Instead of a quick and comfortable exit from the capital, drivers are faced with a traffic regime typical of a second-class road. In the section from the 1st to the 8th kilometer of "Hemus" (direction Varna) the speed is limited to 90 km/h. Even more worrying is the decision to force heavy trucks over 12 tons to drive "only in the emergency lane".
The measure, which according to the RIA is "aimed at increasing safety", in practice turns the emergency lane into an active one, depriving the section of an emergency zone. The term of this restriction is until mid-May 2026, which confirms that there is no quick solution to the problem.
The situation on the "Trakia" highway is no rosier. Repairs there are becoming a permanent state. In the Sofia and Burgas districts, restrictions for "safety" and "repair activities" are due on December 31, 2026. This practically means that drivers will have to put up with traffic jams and bottlenecks throughout this year.
In the Ruse and Razgrad region, the road situation is complicated by thick fog with visibility below 100 meters. While the highways suffer from "unsatisfactory pavement", in the Ruse region the problems are structural.
The bridge over the Cherni Lom River to the village of Katselovo (road III-202) is in a state of emergency. The RIA defines it as "compromised", which has imposed a restriction on trucks over 10 tons and the introduction of a one-lane traffic regime.
The main repair activities in the region are also large-scale and long-term:
Road III-501 (Ivanovo – Borovo): Repairs here will continue until the end of October 2026, with traffic in places narrowed to one lane.
Road III-202 (Ruse – Opaka): A collapse at a culvert is keeping traffic in one lane with repairs expected by May.
As of 5:30 p.m., road surfaces in the country are wet and partially icy. It is raining in Ruse, Veliko Tarnovo and the "Shipka" pass. Visibility is severely reduced not only in Northeastern Bulgaria, but also along the Danube (Lom) and in the passes.
The picture that the RIA bulletin paints today is of a road network that operates in "emergency survival" mode, not normal operation. The deadlines for repairs, extended until the end of 2026, suggest that the patience of drivers will be the main resource that the state will rely on this year as well.