If work continues at the same pace, as the builders assured, traffic on the Mezdra - Botevgrad expressway will actually be opened by the end of June this year. This was announced by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Ivanov. Today he again inspected the construction activities on the site.
„The commitment that was made by the ministry, the „Road Infrastructure“ Agency and the builders is being fulfilled and the progress is extremely serious“, informed the minister. He added that the circumstances require all actions and procedures for completing the road to be accelerated.
After the completion of the site and the opening of the passability, repairs to the bypass routes used so far will begin, it became clear during the inspection.
At the same time, the Minister has requested from the RIA that the project for the major repair of the republican road I-3 Lukovit - Pleven be completed and approved by the end of June, so that the repair there can begin immediately. And he emphasized that the statements of the former regional minister Andrey Tsekov about the existence of a ready-made project for the repair of this road are false. The project has gone through two stages, the third is not ready, he explained.
“A project is made for each repair, which must be coordinated between the institutions, and my requirement to the RIA is that these deadlines be accelerated“, the minister also said, emphasizing that the installation of dividing rubber pegs on many road sections in the country will continue, and the relevant projects are currently being made.
“In this regard, I will be uncompromising and will be so as long as I am in this department“, said Ivanov. He added: “The efforts, both mine and those of the entire team, are to work as quickly as possible on all suspended or delayed infrastructure projects, which are currently creating extremely great anxiety and tension among travelers. To enter the natural rhythm that should be present in the implementation of such infrastructure projects.“
During the inspection, it also became clear that by the end of June, traffic will also be allowed on section 1 of the “Hemus“ highway.
The inspection was attended by Eng. Ventsislav Atanasov, member of the Management Board of the “Road Infrastructure“ Agency, the mayors of Vratsa – Kalin Kamenov, and of Mezdra – Ivan Asparuhov, as well as representatives of the companies implementing the site. The mayor of Vratsa Kalin Kamenov emphasized that the Mezdra – Botevgrad road is vital for the revitalization of the economy of Northwestern Bulgaria and thanked Minister Ivanov for the daily communication. He assured that the mayor of Mezdra is conducting additional civil supervision and is informing the minister daily about the entire process with photographs. It is very important for us that the road is passable and that it is opened by June so that people can travel normally. I hope that with the efforts of the contractor companies, work will be done on Saturdays and Sundays to meet the deadline and the road will be opened in June, he added.
In response to a question from the media, Minister Ivanov called on drivers to comply with traffic rules, because violating them has fatal consequences. He announced that within 12 hours during the tests for detecting average speed, which are currently being conducted, 922 exceedances were detected from just one frame. All cameras are capable of recording instantaneous speed and calculating average speed. They are working and are currently being certified, he added.