Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Construction of the Hemus Motorway has been going on for half a century

Photo: BGNES

On October 4, 1974, the construction of the Hemus Motorway from Sofia to Varna started. Back then, the chairman of the State Council and leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party, Todor Zhivkov, turned the first sod for the country's northern transport axis. This was also the start of construction of the motorway ring in Bulgaria. The main designer of the route is engineer Dena Palankova, BTA recalls. 

By 1985, the difficult section with numerous tunnels and bridges passing through the Vitinia Pass was completed. The highest viaduct in Bulgaria (120 meters) is situated in this section. The planned length of the highway route is 418 km, which makes "Hemus" the longest motorway in Bulgaria, but currently 191 km are completed and in use. A new 7 km-long section is soon to be put in use.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

BIA President Dobri Mitrev

Businesses are cautious in their expectations for 2025

41% of the member companies of the Bulgarian Industrial Association expect an economic decline in 2025. 21% believe there will be no change compared to 2024. 65% of the respondents anticipate a deterioration in their own business due to the..

published on 12/17/24 11:32 AM

The price of electricity is expected to increase by 9% on January 1, 2025

The price of electricity for households could increase by nearly 9% starting next year, according to estimates by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission. This means that with an average consumption of nearly 400 kilowatt-hours, the monthly bills..

published on 12/15/24 10:01 AM

CITUB calls for the introduction of a national subsistence wage

The leadership of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) insists that a national subsistence wage be introduced in Bulgaria, with the minimum wage in the country reaching at least 80% of the subsistence wage by 2027. According..

published on 12/13/24 10:35 AM