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API is preparing a competition for the construction of the ring road in Sofia

This analysis showed a lot of increased traffic in the area and the need for this construction to be carried out urgently

Aug 25, 2024 13:35 208

Agency "Road Infrastructure" (API) is considering announcing a tender for the construction of the ring road in Sofia, said the chairman of the Management Board (MB) of the road agency, engineer Yordan Valchev, on BNT.

He specified that the competition is not only for a tunnel, but all options will be considered.

In connection with a project to solve the transport problem in the capital, which was drawn up by the leader of GERB Boyko Borisov, the chairman of the API commented that it is possible to build a tunnel, but all the details must be seen.

Valchev pointed out that when he started working in the Road Agency Management Board nine months ago, one of his main tasks was to resume the construction process of the Ring Road. The first thing I have done is to organize a transport analysis of the traffic in the area, on this section - the busiest, between "Buxton" and "Sheep's trough," he added.

This analysis showed much increased traffic in the area and the need for this construction to be done urgently. I had received a conceptual design from the Metropolitan Municipality, which had several flaws. There are currently about 1,000 complaints about this project in the Municipality. An alternative project has been presented. At the very beginning, citizens came to me who had tunnel projects presented by various companies. Such options have also been considered. In order to solve these unresolved cases, API is thinking of launching a competition to solve this problem, most likely an international one, said Eng. Yordan Valchev.

In his words, it is not yet known how much the project will cost - perhaps between BGN 600 million and BGN 1 billion. The construction itself can happen within two years, but all the procedures until then and approvals will take more time, Valchev added.

The Chairman of the Administrative Board of API said that they plan to build an underpass in Kazichene to remove the last traffic light on the Ring Road. We have a problem with the bridge on "Bulgaria" Blvd. The Metropolitan Municipality made a project that took three months, and if they don't support it in the coming days, API may have to come in and support the bridge by September 15 to free traffic, he pointed out.

When asked when the cameras of the toll system will be connected to the traffic police, Eng. Valchev said that the integration process of the two systems is going very well at the moment, and the accuracy must be measured. The cameras of the toll system will catch drivers over 140 km/h, because that is the limit in Bulgaria. This will happen by the end of the year or the beginning of the next, he announced.

This year, we decided to reduce all possible construction activities on the highways and ease the traffic of tourists in this busy summer season, Eng. Yordan Valchev also said. For the first time this summer, the traffic along the entire highway "Hemus" is non-stop, he pointed out. On AM "Thrakia" there is a bad section between Sliven and Stara Zagora and for the first time we made an innovative organization of the traffic, which allows cars to move constantly in two lanes in both directions, added the chairman of the API Board. According to him, the reasons for the many accidents are not related to the road conditions, but because of the fast speeds, many road accidents happen.