The passage of heavy trucks through the Petrohan Pass in the Balkan Mountains will be allowed from 09:00 on Monday, June 16, the regional governor of Montana, Kalin Haitov, told BTA. He specified that currently the necessary markings for trucks to pass are being made on the road in the pass and when the work is completed, the relevant order of the “Road Infrastructure“ Agency will be issued.
The movement of trucks through the Petrohan pass, which is the shortest route from Sofia to the Montana and Vidin districts, will be limited on certain days and hours.
Heavy trucks will not be able to pass through the pass on weekends, Saturdays and Sundays, and also during the hours when there is the highest traffic of passenger cars. The release of trucks through Petrohan is necessary to provide another alternative route for them until the repair of the main road in sections between Mezdra and Botevgrad is completed. The road through Petrohan will not be the only possible route for trucks with goods, specified the regional governor Kalin Haitov. He announced that there will be police posts at the approaches to the Petrohan Pass, which will monitor whether the specified hours for passing trucks are strictly observed.
Last year, the movement of heavy trucks through the Petrohan Pass in the Balkan Mountains was allowed from June to October for the same reason – the need for an alternative route due to repairs to the main road. Unsatisfied with this decision, citizens from the municipalities of Berkovitsa and Montana organized seven protests on the road near Berkovitsa and in the village of Barziya. The protesters pointed out that the road through Petrohan is narrow and not suitable for heavy goods vehicles, but only for passenger cars, and there are many bends along it, where large trucks with trailers inevitably enter the oncoming lane and create a risk of an accident.
Heavy trucks destroy the asphalt, in addition, the vibrations prevent those living in the houses around the road in the village of Barzia from sleeping and cause the walls of their homes to crack.
The Union of Transporters in Bulgaria insisted on allowing trucks to pass through Petrohan, stating that there was no way that trucks with goods could be stopped while a section of the main road was being repaired.