DANUBE BRIDGE 2 TEMPORARILY CLOSED FOR TRAFFIC

Protesting drivers blocked the traffic in the lanes from Romania to Bulgaria at the Danube Bridge at Vidin and Rousse on 24th of January. Lorries waiting at the border crossing formed 10 km long queue near the bridge at Rousse. Currently, all the traffic of freight vehicles between Bulgaria and Romania goes through Rousse and Vidin border crossings because the ferries are not working due to the ice formation on the river.

Drivers temporarily blocked the traffic on Danube Bridge 2 at Vidin because of the long queues at the border crossing. Only cars arriving from Romania are let through. The queues of lorries in the recent weeks reach up to 15 km. Drivers say then protest is spontaneous and they will not lift the blockade until the issue is solved.

The lane in the direction towards Romania is not blocked by freight vehicles but there are drivers whose hours-of-service limit expired and they are not allowed to drive. That is why the lane is closed in that direction, a Bulgarian driver explained. According to him, the delay results from the Romanian side, where a vehicle check takes 10 minutes. He has been waiting in the queue for nearly 10 hours.

The queue of waiting lorries at Vidin-Calafat border crossing is nearly 6 km long. The checkpoint is operating normally and vehicles are let through in both directions. All available lanes are operational.

The reason for the long queues is that the ferries are not working because of the ice formation on the Danube river and all freight vehicles are re-directed towards Viidin checkpoint.

photo by BTA