Traffic chaos at Danube Bridge, some lorries held at appropriate places to avoid conjection at the border crossing

Another day of intense traffic and chaos on the Danube Bridge at Rousse. Because of the kilometre-long queues of lorries, the traffic in the city remained blocked for hours on August 16. Because of the busy traffic, the Ministry of Interior ordered some of the lorries to be held from today at appropriate places in the districts of Stara Zagora, Razgrad and Veliko Tarnovo, in order to avoid congestion at the border crossing.

Drivers say they are used to living in the cabs of the lorries, but the goods they are transporting to Europe arrive with delays.

People from the nearby town of Marten and from the suburbs of Rousse are forced to look for alternative routes through other settlements in order to get to their workplaces, albeit with a long delay. They are calling on Mayor Pencho Milkov to declare a state of emergency because of the long queues of lorries, which are formed every day.

Against this backdrop, the Rousse-Giurgiu ferry service has not yet been restored to handle at least 300 lorries a day. Nor has a buffer car park been built where the lorries can stop and wait without obstructing traffic in the city.

Three ministries - of interior, transport and regional development - are committed to solving the problem of heavy traffic at the Bulgarian-Romanian border. At the border crossing, all lanes are operational at full capacity - five for cars and buses and two for lorries.