“Hemus” Motorway Expands: New Section Lukovit–Ugarchin Opens on December 13

The new three-kilometre section of the Hemus Motorway, from the Dermantsi interchange to the stage connection with Road III-307 Lukovit–Ugarchin, will be opened to traffic tomorrow, 13 December, at around 12:00, for vehicles weighing up to 12 tonnes, the press centre of the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) announced. With this, the construction of Section 1 of the Hemus Motorway is completed.

At the end of August, the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Ivan Ivanov, inspected the construction of the section, and at the beginning of October traffic was opened on the 10-kilometre stretch of the motorway between the Boaza and Dermantsi interchanges, with works continuing on the subsequent three kilometres.

The RIA reminds that Section 1 includes two interchanges – Boaza and Dermantsi – through which the new route is connected to the national road network in the region. In addition, the section features four major bridge structures over the Vit River. All bridges have been constructed with two independent structures for each direction of travel, with each carriageway comprising two lanes. The first bridge, at kilometre 89, is 534 metres long, has a total of 17 spans, and the structure is 12 metres high.

The second bridge is located at kilometre 90. Its right-hand carriageway is 694.2 metres long, while the left-hand carriageway measures 730.7 metres. To enhance stability, five girders have been installed in each span of the structure, unified by a reinforced concrete monolithic slab. The bridge at kilometre 91 is 632.8 metres long, while the one at kilometre 98 measures 221 metres. Noise barriers have been installed on the bridges, as well as along sections of nearly 100 metres before and after them on both sides, to protect the environment and reduce the impact of noise from heavy traffic. Two viaducts have also been constructed at kilometres 100 and 101, with lengths of 440 metres and 352 metres respectively. The section includes a total of 12 underpasses and overpasses – six agricultural and six at intersections with national and municipal roads. There is also a rest area located at kilometre 94 on both lanes.

The RIA further informs that construction works continue on Sections 2 and 3 of the Hemus Motorway, with a total length of 36.28 kilometres – from the end of the Dermantsi interchange to the connection with Road II-35 Pleven–Lovech, including the Pleven interchange.