Speed limits on „Hemus“ due to repairs and poor condition of the highway.
A bTV team conducted an inspection after the start of another repair - this time in the section between Sofia and Botevgrad, where traffic jams regularly form.
The maximum permitted speed on highways in the country is 140 km/h.
On the ninth kilometer of „Hemus“ drivers see the first sign with a speed limit of 120 km/h and so on for 13 km.
And after another kilometer there is a new speed limit and so on to Botevgrad.
The total - out of 47 kilometers between Sofia and Botevgrad - 36 are under speed limits, which makes the average speed 107 km/h.
Why is „Hemus“ in this section and the tunnels under continuous repair for years?
Denislav Dimitrov travels every day on the „Hemus“ highway from Pravets to Sofia. We go with him to show us the irregularities he has noticed.
“Are they old signs from repairs……49 left in the middle, some hidden, some not hidden, rotten signs, the guardrails are bent after accidents, the fence that keeps out animals is compromised almost everywhere“, he complains.
And the biggest problem is the potholes.
“I am used to them, potholes are a normal part of our highway. I have witnessed an accident three times, two of which were in rainy weather… "at least 6/7 sections of the road are aquaplaning," Denislav also says.
According to him, the markings and signaling are also in poor condition.
We ask him if he has a question he wants to ask the "Road Infrastructure" Agency, and he answers:
“Yes, lately I've been so affected that I want to ask them the general question of what they do, what they exist for?“
We turned to the RIA with the problems that Denislav outlined, as well as how much the repairs made over the last 15 years have cost - so far there has been no answer.
Eng. Yasen Ishev, chairman of the Scientific and Technical Union for Transport, is one of the people who built "Hemus" 50 years ago. We ask him why the highway is under permanent repair.
„The first reason is poor quality construction, the second is poor quality maintenance. The third reason is that the highways are designed for 11 tons per axle, vehicles of 16 tons per axle pass, which overloads them“, he says.
According to him,the data on the thickness of the pavement in the regulatory framework have not been updated since 2003.
„They don't want to update them or there is no one. We have calculated that these structures that are on the pavement should be 10/15% their thickness“, Ishev further explains.
The next repair, which began at the beginning of the week, will continue until June 30.