Hemus motorway

The Hemus motorway (Bulgarian: Автомагистрала „Хемус“, Avtomagistrala "Hemus") or Haemus motorway, designated A2, is a partially built motorway in Bulgaria. Its planned length is 418 km, of which 175 km are in operation as of June 2020.[1] The motorway in operation is divided into two sections — the first one links the capital Sofia with Boaza near Yablanitsa, crossing Stara planina (Balkan mountains), and the second segment connects Varna and Belokopitivo near Shumen. According to the plans, Hemus motorway would connect Sofia with the third-largest city of Varna, at the Black Sea coast, duplicating European route E70 (Varna–Shumen), European route E772 (Shumen–Yablanitsa) and European route E83 (Yablanitsa–Sofia).

Hemus motorway
Автомагистрала „Хемус“
Hemus motorway highlighted in red and yellow
Route information
Length418 km (260 mi)
175 km (109 mi) built
Major junctions
FromSofia
ToVarna (not constructed from Boaza near Yablanitsa to Belokopitovo near Shumen)
Location
Major citiesBotevgrad, Shumen (future: Pleven, Lovech, Veliko Tarnovo and Targovishte)
Highway system
Motorways in Bulgaria

History

October 4, 1974

The construction of the motorway officially began. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by the First Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP), Todor Zhivkov. [2]

1999

The Pravets–Yablanitsa section of the Hemus motorway was officially opened on 5 December 1999. Due to the mountainous terrain through the Stara Planina the section, 5.47 km in length with another 16 km reconstructed, features two viaducts and one tunnel (Praveshki hanove), while the whole Sofia–Yablanitsa section has three more tunnels. The construction of the Pravets–Yablanitsa section began in the 1984 but ceased in the late 1980s due to lack of funds to be finished in 1998–1999.[3]

2005

The 12.8 km section connecting Shumen with Kaspichan to the east was opened on 30 December 2005 and cost 77.6 million leva.[4]

2013
  • In July 2013 a segment of the motorway at Shumen opened.[5]
  • In August 2013 a 8.46 km segment, connecting the Sofia ring road and the Yana junction, opened to traffic.[6]

2015

In August 2015, a 4.9 km segment, including the Belokopitovo interchange (with I-2 road), was inaugurated.[7]

2019

In October 2019, а 9.3 km segment, connecting Yablanitsa with the I-4 road near the Boaza ravine of Vit, was inaugurated.[8]

Recent Developments

In January 2013 National Company "Strategic Infrastructure Projects" (NCSIP), a state-run company, tendered feasibility study for the remaining sections of Hemus motorway (Yablanitsa-Panayot Volovo).[9] In 2014 NCSIP signed contracts for drawing conceptual designs for all 8 lots of the motorway. In January 2015, a tender for design and build of 2 lots, between Yablanitsa and the Pleven/Lovech road, has been announced by NCSIP.[10] In 2016 NCSIP was closed, with all activities being transferred to the Roads Agency. The tender for construction of the Yablanitsa - Pleven/Lovech road was cancelled due to lack of secured financing and later in 2016 a new tender for a shorter 9 km stretch between Yablanitsa and Boaza has been announced.

Exits
Exit km Destinations Lanes Notes
0 Sofia ring road In service
1.4 Dolni Bogrov In service
8.4 Yana In service
21.7 Potop In service
30.2 Churek In service
33 Vitinya In service
40 Topli Dol In service
42 Echemishka In service
47 Botevgrad In service
52.7 Pravets In service
55 Praveshki Hanove In service
60.4 Osikovska Lakavitsa In service
67.8 Dzhurovo In service
74.6 Yablanitsa In service
78.5 Prelog In service
87.8 Boaza In service
103.2 Dermantsi Under construction
122.3 Kalenik Planned
139.3 Pleven Under construction
166.1 Letnitsa Planned
189.3 Pavlikeni Planned
222 Kutsina, Veliko Tarnovo Planned
265.6 Kovachevsko kale Planned
299 Loznitsa Planned
310.9 Buhovtsi Under construction
327.2[11] Belokopitovo In service
338 Shumen-east In service
348.6 Kaspichan, Novi Pazar In service
357 Nevsha In service
361.8 Mlada Gvardiya In service
372 Provadia-north (road III-208) In service
380.3 Provadia-east, Gabarnitsa In service
387.3 Devnya In service
392.5 Povelyanovo In service
398 Slanchevo In service
408 Varna Airport In service
413 Varna-west In service

Miscellaneous
  • The Viaduct at Vitinya Pass
  • Vitinya Tunnel on A-2 Hemus Motorway, Bulgaria
  • Echemishka Tunnel on A-2 Hemus Motorway, Bulgaria
  • Topli Dol Tunnel on A-2 Hemus Motorway, Bulgaria

References
  1. "АМ "ХЕМУС"". ncsip.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  2. "45 години от първата копка на АМ "Хемус"" (in Bulgarian). Moreto.net. 4 October 2019.
  3. "Иван Костов откри участъка Правец - Ябланица на магистрала "Хемус"". Botevgradski Vesti. 6 December 1999.
  4. "Строежът на "Хемус" е в ръцете на държавата". BiG.BG. 8 October 2009. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013.
  5. "Инж. Лазар Лазаров присъства на пускането на движението по участък от АМ "Хемус"" (in Bulgarian). API. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  6. "The New Section of Hemus Motorway – Link with Sofia Ring Road – Road Junction Yana Has Been Opened for Traffic". API. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  7. "Магистрала "Хемус" от днес е с пет километра по-дълга" (in Bulgarian). Dnevnik. 3 August 2015.
  8. "Премиерът Борисов на новия участък от „Хемус": Това е едно изключително съоръжение, за което българските строители имат много да разказват" (in Bulgarian). API. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  9. "Feasibility Study for the Hemus Motorway". ncsip.bg. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  10. "Тръгна процедурата за удължаването на "Хемус" до разклона за Плевен и Ловеч" (in Bulgarian). Dnevnik. 9 January 2015.
  11. "API :: Начало". www.api.bg. Archived from the original on 2014-06-18. Retrieved 2015-10-20.

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