Potholes at Danube Bridge near Ruse: truck drivers demand urgent repairs
Three months after the bridge was renovated, the road surface at the border crossing is broken up. Over 160,000 vehicles left Bulgaria there in September. Customs lacks money for a full repair.
Archive image · Photo: Gonzosft / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Three months after the major renovation of the Danube Bridge at Ruse was completed, truck drivers are complaining about a broken road surface around the border crossing, BNT reported. Potholes and deep ruts slow traffic and can damage vehicles, while temporary gravel patches wash away in the rain. The problem affects both entries and exits. In September, more than 160,000 vehicles left Bulgaria via the bridge; in a single month, 40,158 trucks did so.
Ruse regional governor Lyubomir Vladimirov is calling for urgent repairs this month or next, before the potholes widen in autumn and winter. The exit lane from Bulgaria, used by heavy trucks, is in the worst state, and there is a risk of queues. The Customs Agency said it was aware of the problem and had carried out patch repairs, most recently in April 2026. A full overhaul, however, requires dedicated funding that is not in the agency's budget.