The Institute for Road Safety demanded that the contracts and all documents for the newly installed crash barriers on the “Hemus“ highway be publicly presented. This is the facility at the 36th kilometer, in the area of the “Korenishki Dol“ viaduct, where, according to IPB, problems were identified during installation.
The organization demands that the assignment contract, unit prices, projects, installation instructions, certificates and documents for crash tests be shown. “Where is the contract? Where are the projects and documents on the basis of which the installation was carried out?“, asks the IPB.
According to the institute, the guardrail was installed on September 22, and during an inspection on September 29, missing bolts, poor welds and metal elements protruding towards the traffic were found. The chairman of the IPB, Bogdan Milchev, stated that the organization had requested from “Automagistrali“ instructions for installation and a project, but had not received them. These statements are the position of the IPB and have not been established by an effective act of a competent authority.
What did the MRDPW and “Automagistrali“ respond to?
The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and the state company “Automagistrali“ rejected the claim of missing bolts. According to the director of the "Operation and Maintenance" department at the company, Daniel Dzhorgov, some of the bolts may not have been tightened, as the installation was carried out in stages.
“There are no missing bolts, there may be some poorly tightened bolts, because this is in the process of work“, said Daniel Dzhorgov.The MRDPW indicated that the section was emergency secured after an accident with a heavy truck, and the entire restraint system of the viaduct is currently being replaced. The department stated that the facility is a temporary one-sided three-wave system H4b W3, has the necessary documentation according to the European standard EN 1317 and is certified for impact by a 38-ton vehicle.
The contract and the wider dispute
API concluded a contract with „Automagistrali“ on September 29, 2026, to restore compromised restrictive systems on the road network. The state-owned company stated that it has the necessary materials, equipment and documents for implementation.
Until the assignment of the activities to „Automagistrali“ was reached after the old contracts for guardrails expired in 2025, and the public procurement for nearly 500 million euros was terminated in June 2026. The plan is for the activities on the restraint systems to be included in future contracts for current repair and maintenance.
IPB has notified the prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Interior, demanding an inspection of the installation and documentation. At the moment, mutually contradictory statements from the organization and state structures have been publicly presented, and a final assessment of the legality of the assignment and the quality of the work can be given after an inspection by the competent authorities.
Sources: focus-news.net, economic.bg, bgonair.bg