Long-Term Traffic Disruption Looms along Sofia-Kulata Road

A section of the E-79 road, the international road running from Bulgaria's Sofia to Kulata and Thessaloniki in Greece, may remain impassable for a whole month following a landslide, caused by the rising of the Struma River.

"
The situation there is very complicated. Nearly the entire road has collapsed in to the river and I am afraid that traffic will be hampered for a month,"
the mayor of Kresna municipality Iliyan Krastev said.

In his words the section that collapsed is very narrow, which is the reason why it is impossible to fix it immediately.

"
The road will be open for traffic in seven-eight days at the earliest,"
forecast Bozhidar Yotov, chairman of the Managing Board of Road Infrastructure agency, who visited on Sunday the affected section.

A truck and its driver have disappeared with no trace into the raging Struma River in South western Bulgaria during efforts to reinforce one of the lanes of the E-79 road leading from Sofia to Greece.

Bulgaria-Greece Road to Remain Closed for 10 Days



The major road in south western Bulgaria, and main connection to neighboring Greece, E-79, will remain closed for traffic for at least 10-12 days, the Blagoevgrad Regional Governor, Valeri Smilenov, informs.

This is, however, a more optimistic forecast, compared to those from Sunday, when it was announced a section of the E-79 international road, running from Bulgaria's Sofia to Kulata and Thessaloniki in Greece, may remain impassable for a whole month following a landslide, caused by the rising of the Struma River after torrential rains.

Smilenov points out about 25 000 to 35 000 cubic meters of land soil will be needed for the repairs which makes it impossible to carry them out in less than 10 days.

On Monday, the mayors of the affected municipalities are submitting to the Regional Governor updated reports on the situation in order to analyze the crisis.

The fate and the whereabouts of the truck driver who disappeared with no trace into the raging Struma River remain unknown.

The situation is critical;
the waters are running fast and very deep – 10 meters and more. Divers are on standby, ready to begin a rescue operation for the driver, but it is still unclear if they will be able to enter the river Monday, according to the Governor.

Bulgaria Redirects All Traffic to Greece through Secondary Route



Bulgaria's Interior Ministry has urged all drivers to use the Ilinden-Exochi crossing when travelling to and from Greece after the rising Struma River damaged the E-79, the main road connecting the two countries.

The torrential rains in South west Bulgaria over the weekend led the Struma River to rise by five meters in the Kresna Gorge, some 120 km south of Sofia, causing a landslide that undermined the road, which collapsed into the river;
a truck with its driver bringing gravel for the repairs has vanished into the raging waters.

The rescue units have still been unable to start the search for the driver since the depth of the river is 8-10 meters, and it is flowing much faster than usual.

According to Valeri Smilenov, Governor of the south western District of Blagoevgrad, the repair works will require bringing in 30 000 cubic meters of land mass to reinforce the bank of the river and the road, which means that the road connecting Sofia with Kulata-Promachonas on the Greek border and the Greek port of Thessaloniki will remain closed for 10 or even 12 days.

The Bulgarian police have redirected all traffic to the only close alternative route – through the Predela Pass and the Bansko winter resort and the town of Gotse Delchev to the Ilinden-Exochi crossing into Greece, which means going all the away around the entire Pirin Mountain.

Another option to turn right from Gotse Delchev via the village of Katuntsi, and to still enter Greece through the Kulata-Promachonas crossing. However, the road from Gotse Delchev to Kulata is under repairs, and is generally advisable to be avoided at the present time, and the traffic police have placed numerous patrols to make sure there are no incidents.

The Bulgarian Border Police have asked their Greek colleagues from the town of Serres to redirect all traffic on their side of the border from Kulata-Promachonas to Ilinden-Exochi.

The Border Police announced that there is little traffic at Kulata-Promachonas, and an increased amount of traffic at Ilinden Exochi but that there are no traffic jams or long lines.

Speaking on Monday, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov explained that the issues with the floods caused by the Struma River will be resolved through the construction of the Struma Highway, which will run roughly along the route of the E-79 route, and will provide a fast transport connection between Sofia and

So, we went from summer like weather into rainy weather accompanied by floods. Something is changing in weather patterns?

Flood-Swallowed Truck Found in Bulgaria, Driver Still Missing



The truck swallowed by the flooded Struma river Saturday was recovered Wednesday morning, but its driver is still missing an authorities say chances for his survival are slim.

Struma over flooded Saturday evening after massive rains in south western Bulgaria and washed a way a segment of E-79, the main road linking Bulgaria and Greece.

Traffic is now rerouted to minor roads and border crossing points.

The flood was so strong that it washed away in the torrential waters of the river a whole truck that was there to dump stones attempting to dam it. Tragically, the driver was in the vehicle.

Wednesday the truck was found some 200 m away from the place the accident took place.

At present, only a small part of the truck is to be seen above the water level. Rescuers have yet to inspect the vehicle and drag it out of the river.

Bulgaria’s Road Infrastructure Agency Repairs E-79 Road

Bulgaria’s Road Infrastructure Agency has made a detailed review of the two most damaged and potentially dangerous sections of E-79, the main road connecting Bulgaria with Greece.

The agency decided to make the review in order to ensure the safety of the E-79 road.

The torrential rains in South west Bulgaria 10 days ago led the Struma River to rise five meters in the Kresna Gorge, some 120 km south of Sofia, causing a landslide that undermined the road, which collapsed into the river;
a truck with its driver bringing gravel for the repairs has vanished into the raging waters.

Both sections, in which the expert group has established possibilities for problems, were immediately acted upon.

Problems with the lay-by next to the asphalt have been established in the first section, which is at the 66th km of the E-79 road. The collapsed parts have been filled with rubble concrete in order to maintain the pavement. However, the experts suspect intentional actions.

The second section of the road, at the 75th km, has been preventively piled with rock material in order to avoid any danger to the road.

The Road Infrastructure Agency has warned drivers to be careful and be prepared for winter conditions because of the rain and snowfalls and the low temperatures.

The traffic on the E-79 road in expected to be fully restored on Thursday.

Bulgaria's International E-79 Road Back and Functioning


The international E-79 road connecting Bulgaria with Greece, which partially collapsed in the beginning of December 2010, has been fully repaired and is already functioning.

Bozhidar Yotov, Head of Bulgaria's Road Infrastructure Agency, arrived personally on the repaired part. Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is also expected to be there for the road's opening.

The torrential rains in South west Bulgaria two weeks ago led the Struma River to rise by five meters in the Krasna Gorge, some 120 km south of Sofia, causing a landslide that undermined the road, which collapsed into the river.

The snowfall on Monday added to the trouble, forcing the authorities to close the Predela Pass between the E-79 road and the Bansko ski resort.

Well, what a state that's in, obviously an amphibian vehicle needed for driving around BG, Annette has booked me in for swimming lessons!!

Eric

You might need to add rock climbing to that too

I'm no good at heights, balance is useless, no good swimming either, I must be good at something!! Playing Pool comes to mind (on a table that is!).

Collapsed Road in South Bulgaria under Repair

Part of the construction in the left lane of the road from the town of Smolyan to Devin in south Bulgaria has collapsed, the Bulgarian Road Infrastructure Agency has announced.

The incident occurred Tuesday, about 1 km after the village of Stoykite on the road to the village of Shiroka Laka in the Smolyan Province.

The 70-meter retaining wall had fallen because of the moisture from rain and snow and had caused the sliding of the road.

Cracks have formed along the asphalt pavement. Measures have been taken for repair works.

Temporary traffic organization has been introduced and the movement of vehicles is carried out one way in the right lane only.

The torrential rains in South west Bulgaria at the beginning of December let the Struma River to rise by five meters in the Kresna Gorge, some 120 km south of Sofia, causing a landslide that undermined the international E-79 road connecting Bulgaria with Greece, which collapsed into the river.

The road was fully repaired and was functioning properly by December 15.

Sounds like they didn't do the job right the first time lets hope 2nd time lucky

Your right Jane they did repair this section about 2 weeks back but they couldn't have done a very good job of it could they